The Moonlit Nile
by imanif
Summary: How do you turn betrayal into love and love into a legend known by all? The slave Selene and the Egyptian Prince Endymion, along with their friends, discover it together under the magic of the moonlit Nile.
1. A royal birthday

The hot sun of the Nile beat down upon their backs. Sweat accumulated before sliding down taunt brown backs. The male slaves were away constructing the pharaoh's tomb in the outskirts of the city while the females were in the fields tending the grain. Some had sleeping children strapped to their breasts, while other children ran between their legs earning a fair slap on the bottom.

Among them, one woman stood out among the rest. The straight edge of her posture veiled by a thick linen cloak pronounced the girl different. She could easily pass for a teenage boy if her graceful movements as she moved between the stalks didn't betray her. Although most of her face was hidden from view, a gentle chin and the slope of a slender neck was exposed to the onlookers.

To one man, it was all he needed to see.

Endymion wasn't sure how it happened or if it was even possible yet before he could stop himself, he found his mouth and mind moving of their own volition.

"I want her," his royal lips pronounced while the single thought repeating in his mind was _mine_. The absurdity of the situation tasted sour in his mouth. He had managed to find a slave with good posture…nothing could be a better gift.

His uncle chuckled deeply beside him, "You were always a strange one, nephew. You cannot even see her figure from under that sun-cloak. But if she is what you desire, then you shall receive her. I shall deny you nothing today even though you have chosen a slave."

"I thank you for your generosity, pharaoh. As for the girl, my desire may, perhaps, be based on other qualities aside from beauty. It has been twenty years of the day."

Pharaoh laughed again, "Endymion, your ideas make me laugh like no other. Today is, after all, a very special day for the prince of Egypt. I hope that this slave will please you."

"She already has…" Endymion whispered as the entourage surrounding Pharaoh and Prince moved on. Silently he wondered why a mere slave girl could possibly stand so proudly. 'She must suffer as I have suffered. She is but a dog.'

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"Where is Amy?" Selene asked Amy's mother, Tziporah when she dropped off yet another basket of harvested grain.

"Oh, Amilene was feeling ill again today. She's been in poor health lately. Odd that it occurs in spurts," Tziporah sighed as she shifted the little Zeke in his harness.

"I need only to pick three more baskets, and then I shall tend to her. Worry not, lady, Amy's strong and healthy," Selene said as she hid a smile. As much as it hurt Amy to lie to her mother, she did it to protect everyone. A few months ago, Rayenne, better known as Raye, stole two old scrolls from the palace for Amy. Whenever Amy was "sick" the girls would all go over to her room and learn how to read the ancient hieroglyphics.

"You and your sister are fine women, Selene. Your mother worries for you two. Isaac and Josiah have all been vying for your hand…"

Selene scowled at the mention of marriage.

"Mother worries too much. I'm but a child in many ways, and I won't be ready for any babes soon,' Selene huffed even as she played with 10 month old Zeke.

"Well, I speak too much when what I should really do is to bathe Zeke. Tonight is, however, a royal holiday, and the bath houses are surely packed," Tziporah said as she adjusted Selene's sun cloak for her, "That's better, child. You hide your face."

"Just doing my daily service for humanity," she replied cheekily, "And I'm tired of hearing about this royal birthday. I mean we're slaves! It's not like they'd kill five thousand pheasants for my birthday…"

"Hush, child. I know you and the other girls have your own ideas, but you must never let the wrong people hear. They could hurt your family! And be proud for Mina, she is dancing tonight, no?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right although a honor I think it not. I do wish to be able to watch over her, but it's much too late to sign up to be a serving slave. My own sister…forced to dance…I have to run along now and finish this before heading over to see Amy," Selene said as she started off with renewed vigor, all thoughts about the royal birthday gone as she now looked forward to learning whatever new scroll Amy got her hands on.

"Take care, child." Baby Zeke gurgled happily as his mother started back on her work again.

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"You seem more pensive than usual," Jaden said as he sank another ball into the rolling hoop before adding, "Not that I'm complaining."

"To think, tonight is officially the night I'm recognized by the gods for potential pharaohship… it boggles the mind, cousins," Endymion made another shot before barely missing.

"And plus you get the choice of any woman in the kingdom to be in your bed…hell even the Pharaoh's own chief wife, should you desire it. Now, that's what I call a good day's work," Natum joked.

"Yet the word is that you picked a slave, one that you didn't even see up close…one that could very well have been you at age 15…" Jaden continued while Endymion's face reddened.

"Say no more of the slave," Endymion warned with a quiet rage.

"I'm on your side, Endymion. I'm all about some slave loving. I've seen this particular slave who keeps on stealing old scrolls from the garbage, and she's just a vision…" Jaden barely missed the punch coming in for his jaw.

"Let the bastard go, Endymion. He's just pissed the last time he tried to pull the slave girl in for a kiss, she left a mark on him that may affect posterity for generations," Zachariah said as the men all erupted into laughter again.

"She won't run tonight. I've found out from the supervisor that she'll be working the feast tonight, and when I get my hands on her…"

"Yeah, sure, Jaden," Kenlum scoffed as he picked up another ball, "Now, are you ladies ready to get your asses whipped?"

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"Mercy, Mina! I can't believe you're going to dance practically naked in front of the entire court just so the birthday prince can get a kick out of naked women shaking to a musical beat!" Littian, or Lita, spat as a watery-eyed Mina sat at Amy's table.

"You want to fight? Is that what? Well news flash, beast, she's not as talented in warfare as you. The goal here is to follow the royal decree and not get raped by a bunch of horny slave drivers or guards. What if they threw her in jail?" Raye shot back.

"Well at least she has some dignity at the end of the day! What's the difference if the royal decree just tells her to get on the ground and split her legs?"

"Stop it!" Mina shouted as she burst into tears.

"She's right. We can't do anything to prevent this from happening, so let's just try to make the best of it. After all, she's a great dancer… maybe that's all they want from her," Amy said hopefully.

"How can they use this against me? Is nothing sacred anymore? I find the one thing I enjoy doing the most, and they exploit me for it…" Mina whispered brokenly.

"Yeah, and half the slaves are proud for you," Lita said angrily.

"So really if they asked me to… you know… afterwards, I can't say no, can I?"

"You could," Lita insisted stubbornly.

"Chyea, she'd make a real dignified mummy, not that those bastards would even extend her that honor."

The girls sat silently as none dared to speak. What exactly would Mina do in such a situation? What would any of them do?

As if to break the melancholic reality, Lita spoke up first.

"Speaking of who's going to be a mummy, where the hell is Selene? She's never late."

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'Abba, where the hell am I?' Selene thought as she rubbed her pounding head. She felt her head pound heavily against the wagon's dirty floor as the wheel hit a rock. All she remembered was going towards Amy's after finishing her allotment and a blinding pain in her neck and then nothing.

Struggling against dizziness and pain, she tried to sit up only to have a cool hand on her forehead and a voice telling her to relax.

As her eyes focused on the person whose lap her head was resting in, she started. It was a slave woman…

"Help me, please."

"Hush child, it is out of our hands now."

"Please, my mother doesn't know that I'm here… Help me. I want to go home." Selene suddenly felt like a lost child who wanted nothing more than her mother and home.

"Hush, she shall know soon. Everyone shall know of your honor. Be proud, little one." The woman looked at her with unreadable eyes. Somehow her words sounded hollow to Selene's panic-stricken ears.

"Honor? Being kidnapped and confused is now an honor?" Her voice rose in volume as tears ran down her face. She suddenly realized when the cart driver up front growled.

"Shut her up, slave, we are almost to the palace and I don't want to hear her crying and whining."

"Hush child, Nadia's here. Be still for both our sakes," Nadia said softly to the girl she had in her arms. 'I hope my own child will never have to suffer this shame. No man would ever want her again after tonight…'

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Endymion stepped into the rose-scented water. Although a few Egyptian maids were milling around the pool, none were allowed within it. It was part of the tradition. Endymion felt the tension ease from his muscles as the scenting oils wafted into the air. Leisurely he allowed the maids to cleanse his body, amused when they reached the lower part of his anatomy.

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Selene stifled a blood-curdling scream as a surprisingly strong Nadia pulled off her clothes and pushed her into a pool of warm scented water. As soon as the cart had stopped Nadia had half-carried and half-dragged her into the castle with the wagon and apparently slave driver chasing behind them. And then she threw her into this pool… Selene had to admit that the water did wonders to her frazzled nerves. She smelled…jasmine? Where ever she was and where ever she was going, someone wanted her to look and smell nice. But why her?

As Nadia scrubbed her body hard for dirt and grime, Selene looked desperately for escape. She was obviously in the palace, but she still didn't know why she was here. The possibility of them executing her for learning how to read was unlikely since Nadia was doing her damnedest to get her clean, but there were worse fates than death. Hoping against all hope, Selene prayed to Abba that she wouldn't be bestowed the honor of becoming part of Pharaoh's harem. At the thought of honor, she paled and stiffened, is that what Nadia meant?

"Out," Nadia commanded suddenly as the scrubbing ceased.

Obeying, she walked toward the long drying linen Nadia held. Before she knew it there were a variety of slave girls working on scenting her entire body in perfumes and rinsing her hair with henna. A few even openly gaped at her silvery hair and bronze complexion to which Selene felt incredibly embarrassed. Her hair had always been a topic of discussion amongst the slaves. Many saw it as omen to a savior, the messiah, while others thought it was the sign of disaster.

"You must be so honored, and you are beautiful, lady," one of the girls complimented as she buffed Selene's chipped nails.

"Believe me, I'd gladly trade with you," she mumbled under her breath. Her sharp eyes didn't escape the three burly Egyptian guards stationed around her. If she said what she really wanted to say, she'd mostly earn a beating for everyone in the room. Helpless to her own fate, Selene was determined to at least keep the other slaves safe from possible harm.

'Those monsters are just waiting for me to slip up before they can lay a hand on us,' she thought bitterly. Although Selene's never been inside the palace before, Raye's stories about witnessing gang rapes and constant assault on slaves has made all the girls extra cautious.

'And to think I was worried sick about Mina dancing tonight at the banquet...here I am probably about to become some bed slave to one of those monsters.'

Selene was next led into a different chamber where Nadia and another older woman attended her. The guards, thankfully, remained outside of the door as she was dressed. The sheath itself was extraordinary. The candlelight reflecting off of it gave it a peachy glow, and Selene thought the garment actually sparkled. The coolness and smoothness of it on her skin temporarily alleviated her anxiety. Seconds later, the dress worried her.

'I have never seen anything like this and it obviously didn't come cheap. Hell, it probably wasn't even made in Egypt. So this must mean that where ever I'm going or whoever I'm going to meet is pretty damn important…'

Nadia took her hand again and led her around the corridors and hallways with those annoying guards following. Selene was so confused and nervous that her palms felt clammy and her cheeks were flushed red.

"Nadia, what is to happen to me?" She whispered desperately.

"Abba be with you child," she replied with one last pitying look at Selene before stopping them in front of a large palm oak door.

Loudly, she proclaimed to Selene in a toneless voice, "You shall await his majesty within the chambers."

Gulping loudly as her fears were confirmed, Selene was pushed into the chamber roughly before a loud clang outside sealed the exit.

"Well fuck," she cursed loudly before examining the splendor before her.

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"I can't believe this had to happen now! Mina's been carted off to Abba knows what, and Selene's missing! What are we going to do now?" Lita fumed as she pulled on the white linen robe.

"I'm going to stay here to try and find Selene while you guys make sure Mina gets out of there alive and in one piece. Maybe she's just gone off…somewhere, you know her," Amy said.

"But that's just it, that's not like Selene at all. Sure she can be a bit whimsical and rebellious sometimes, she's as reliable as a rock when it comes to us. She wouldn't miss the meeting this for the world!" Raye retorted. She was already dressed in the uniform and was in the process of lacing her twine sandals over her tan legs.

"Well no time arguing about it. The sun's almost gone, and we need to report to the palace for duties. I just hope Selene's all right," Lita said softly. The pair adjusted each other's hair into the traditional style for slaves, a tightly bounded bun.

"She's a big girl. She can take care of herself. Everything will go fine," Amy said hoping her words were prophetic.

"Time to go, Ames. See you and Selene tonight," Raye said over her shoulder as the two set off toward the palace in the distance.

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Endymion looked at himself in the gilded mirror. Dressed in the full suit of Egyptian royalty he could hardly recognize himself. Even harder to believe was that today the gods would crown him with his princeship and later his pharaohship.

But the thought did not bring a smile to his face. Today was exactly twenty years ago since his father's death.

Endymion's birth was as controversial as the life of his father, Pharaoh Tekum III. A rare event, Endymion was born during the Sothic event, once of the 1461 Egyptian years when the heliacal rising of the star Sirius came back to its original position coinciding roughly to the flooding of the Nile. The night he was delivered from his mother's womb, the star Sirius, shone an azure blue in the night sky as the priests and priestess prayed to the gods for a boy, since by that time Pharaoh's six wives had already managed to produce 14 females. The first time Endymion opened his eyes, everyone in the room gasped in horror and awe. His eyes shined a deep blue like the star that heralded his arrival. They didn't know what to make of it other than that the boy was as rare and as fearful as the Sothic period. If he had been the child of a slave or a servant, he probably would've been dumped into the Nile and his parents executed, but his father, desperate for an heir and instantly amused by his son's odd appearance, loved him beyond all else.

From birth, his father trained him to take on the duty of pharaoh. Little did he know that a few months after his birth, the heavy flooding of the Nile had hurt his father's political regime severely. While the country was in turmoil as regional officers began plotting an uprising against the royal family, Endymion enjoyed the many luxuries of first-born princes. He adored his father, and although his mother, Anack, was not the chief wife, she was by far the Pharaoh's favorite wife. He had a happy childhood when he spent many days playing with his cousins. Even then he had an affinity to four of his uncle's sons. Jaden, Natum, Zachariah, and Kenlum were his childhood buddies, friends and soul brothers who have participated in countless antics and tricks with him. Pharaoh gave Endymion's uncle, Salik, the responsibility of squelching the rumors of rebellion. Things seemed to have settled down, and everyone worked on rebuilding the destruction caused by the floods.

And then the Pharaoh was poisoned the night of Endymion's third birthday, and a slave was pinpointed as the perpetrator. After an elaborate ceremony and sealing of a tomb, Uncle, now Pharaoh, Salik took over the kingdom. The days of carefree happiness ended for Endymion as a large-scale investigation headed by Pharaoh penetrated any pockets of slave resistance groups. They were eliminated quickly and Endymion learned to despise them. After all, it was because of them that his beloved father was killed.

'Tonight, the woman shall suffer. After dawn she will no longer be able to stand proudly as if she were more than a dog or a cow to society. She will lose her foolish pride, and I shall avenge my father,' Endymion nodded to his reflection solemnly before leaving for the lavish banquet prepared for him.


	2. Destined encounters

"Let it be known that it is year 20 under the Majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Salik. The Feast of the Opening of the Year III Shemu 28, Birth day of the Prince Endymion shall commence," the page sang out in a loud and commanding voice. 

"Blah, blah, blah, just get on with it…" Natum mumbled as the military advisor droned on and on about peace and stability. His stomach was practically growling in hunger, and he'd already finished the appetizer. Natum had always been proud of his large appetite, and it certainly wasn't everyday that one of the best chefs in the country would be cooking tonight. 'The path to my heart is definitely through my stomach,' he thought wryly as he caught some of the servant girls sneaking glances at him.

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Lita, however, was in the kitchen checking the roasting pheasants. As soon as she finished her rounds, she'd be able to leave the kitchen and start serving out in the banquet hall where she could at least keep an eye on Mina. 'I'll kill those bastards if they lay a hand on her…' she stabbed the bird with much more force than usual and the slave boy's eyes beside her bulged comically.

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"Quiet, you might learn something…" Jaden muttered as he watched the slave girl who has rejected him at least twice now. She was moving jerkily around the edge of the generals as more and more hands reached out to touch her silky skin. Fists clenched, he swore beneath his breath. Despite their brief encounters, the slave has occupied his mind for quite a few days now. 'Feisty one, tonight you shall be mine…'

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Raye was busy refilling the goblets of the generals and avoiding groping hands. Just as she would bend over one glass, some offending hand would slide up the back of her leg. 'Abba, is that why these robes are so damn short?' she thought as she would move away quickly to the next one. It's not like she could just push their hand away since that would certainly earn her a beating…she hoped she'd be able to finish this table and move on to the table of priests and priestesses soon. She'd take dirty looks over dirty hands any day of the week.

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"I mean if the man was going to spew shit all day long he should at least get some hard facts into it. Nine out of ten sentences are completely conjectured," Zachariah complained. One of the more intelligent men in the palace, he couldn't wait to take over the part of the operations that dealt with educating Egypt's brightest. He believed that the future of Egypt's prosperity depended solely on education. 'What wouldn't I give for some intelligent conversation around here? And what's with these servants checking me out all the time when half of them don't even know how to write their name?'

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Amy left yet another hut with a defeated slouch. No one seemed to know where Selene was although some of the women seemed to know more than they were telling. She could practically see it in their eyes. 'Where ever she is, it doesn't seem like the slave women approve…' Amy deducted as she trudged up the hill to Selene's hut. It was time that her mother knew…Selene was missing.

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"Look at Jaden eyeing that slave like a hawk. What I find sexy as hell is a woman who's confident and sure about herself. I don't want to hear none of that nagging and whining for the rest of my life," Kenlum mused as he winked saucily at one of the servant girls only to have her turn away in shyness. His eyes moved restlessly over the crowd waiting for the performances to begin. Endymion won't be the only one scoring tonight, and there was nothing like an erotic dance to get him ready for the night. 'Ah, dancing…praise the gods.'

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Mina shivered from behind the entrance. She had merely a slip of cloth to cover her body, and it did nothing to alleviate the cool breeze blowing into the palace from the Nile. A group of twenty three women, Mina included, some slaves and some Egyptians, were waiting to dance. 'I won't make a mistake. That would just be another excuse they could use to hurt me…I'll be fine. I'm calm and confident… ' Mina thought as she waited for the cue to enter.

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"That's why you're allowed more than one wife, dumbass," Endymion muttered under his breath when the infuriating advisor finally finished his long-winded speech and stepped off the podium. He was already to bypass this entire ceremony. 'The whole thing's pointless…' he complained internally. The banquet was mainly a celebration for the upper-class Egyptians. It won't be until later at midnight that the actual ceremony will be performed, and Endymion will be in the grand chamber with the slave. 'I wonder how she feels to be trapped right now,' Endymion thought wryly and as much as his head told him to laugh cruelly, he couldn't help feeling ashamed of himself.

According to tradition, the transition of heavenly power from the gods to the royal prince, first-born son of Egypt, will occur on his twenty-third birth night. After a great banquet featuring dances and rites performed by the best in the country, the prince will retire to a new chamber where a maiden of his choosing will await him. The high priests and priestess of the kingdom will enter the temple of Re, the Egyptian sun god, and cry out to the heavens for their prince. Then as the moon rises over the crest of the sky, the priests of Thoth and Chons, the gods of the Moon, will perform the sacred power transfer between the gods and the prince. Then the prince, now ripe with power, will conquer his prize just as he shall soon conquer and possess all of Egypt. His musings were interrupted when Kenlum began violently choking on his wine. Following the direction of his gaze, Endymion smirked. 'Looks like the banquet's about to get interesting…'

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Selene surveyed the room she was in for some hidden exit. Everyone knew the palace was full of hidden passageways and corridors in case the royal family ever needed to escape unnoticed. It was obvious the place was extravagant. There were trinkets and materials that she's never seen before on even the richest of Egyptians. Woven tapestries hung on the smooth alabaster walls, and rich, woven rugs carpeted the stone floor. There was even a fireplace warming the room. There were pieces of fancy furniture, a day bed here, and a vanity there, but the centerpiece of the room caused her the most grief.

Smooth and silvery material hung from the posts. The frame was carved from some sort of timber unfamiliar to her and it was inlaid with copper and gold. Five sturdy bars extended at the head of the structure, denoting its royal stature. The thing was a bed, albeit the most comfortable and expensive bed she's ever encountered! But the revelation brought her no pleasure, no honor. Her fate was sealed. By Abba, she was stuck in a royal chamber, and if it was up to the owner of the bed, she wouldn't leave the room a maiden in the morning. Despite her despair, her resolve hardened as she searched along the wall with renewed vigor. 'Despite what these bastards think, I am not going to just roll over and become some toy to be used and discard. Honor, my ass…'

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Mina led the group of dancers in their three part performance. The tempo of the music was light and teasing as they swished and sashayed in figure eights across the platform designated as a stage. She could feel hungry eyes roaming over the girls, coating some in shame and others in glory. She felt disgusted with herself as she dipped her body for an especially provocative move. When she was selected to dance, the organizers had told her flat out that the dance would be enticing and seductive, a foreplay leading to the prince's rite. 'More like a national orgy,' she thought wryly as she accidentally caught the eye of an overweight general ripping at his peasant leg. An unpleasant thought of him devouring her limb by limb like the poor bird disgusted her and she nearly stumbled on a quick step. 'Focus, girl! The lives of these girls and yours depend on it!' She scolded herself as the next phase of the dance settled in.

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Kenlum mouth hung open at the sight of her hair. Truly it had been the cause of his near-death experience. When the women filed in from some outer-room, the glistening gold was what had caught his eye. "What an obscenely odd color," he heard one of the pharaoh's wives whisper to his own mother. Kenlum didn't agree at all. It was the color of gold, of wealth, of the sun personified. Once he got past the hair, the rest of her just blew him away once again. Graceful limbs moving to the flow of music just beckoned to him. Her face was just as ravishing with creamy skin and pink lips. Her eyes occasionally closed as she moved and hid the world from those dazzling blue orbs. Where the hell did this girl come from?

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Raye scowled behind the tapestry along with Lita at Mina's state of undress. 'Those pigs didn't leave anything to the imagination, did they?' were the first words that came of Lita's mouth when they met up to watch the performance. "Well at least she's moving so fast that they'll be hard pressed to get a good look," she'd answered. Now she wasn't so sure. The men were practically salivating at the girls, and Mina's rare looks just made her stick out even more. Raye, although far from being the star from show, has gotten more than her fair share of groping and gawking for the night. One that irked her to no end was to feel a prick of awareness on the back of her neck and catching that infuriating man watching her. He was most definitely an Egyptian, and a rich one at that. 'For all I could know, he could be the damn prince,' she thought. Every time he approached her, he would attempt to give her a heart-melting smile and sweet-talk her into some unthinkable act. Tonight was no different as he watched her throughout the entire night. He was abnormally handsome, but still the biggest jerk and cocky bastard she's ever encountered. Silently she prayed that she'll not have to see him again…the man gave her odd sensations foreign and exciting, and she definitely didn't need any more excitement these days.

"I hope Amy's found Selene by now," Lita said offhandedly as the two women looked on in anxiety.

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Jaden's eyes scanned the large hall over and over again searching for the same dark head. Although he was vaguely aware of Kenlum and the other men eating up the performance in front of them, he was too preoccupied to notice. For most of the night his eyes were trained on the black-haired slave, watching her as she served drinks or cleaned up spills. Whenever she disappeared somewhere his entire body would be tense until she resurfaced into the room once again. He didn't understand it, but just seeing her put him at peace. 'Wait, since when did my peace of mind depend on a woman, and a slave woman at that?' Before he could contemplate further, he spotted two shadows in a nearby alcove, one with the distinct black bun at the nape of her neck. The other shadow was undoubtedly a woman as well. 'This game stops tonight,' he thought as he signaled to a servant before whispering instructions into his ear. Nodding the servant scurried off and Jaden returned to watching the shadow behind the curtain.

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"Come in, Amy," Iris said wearily as she sat on a bench.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news…" Amy began.

"Mina and Selene, my angels from Abba…say no more, Amy. I know of their whereabouts," Iris replied with a dip of her head.

"Is Selene all right? I have been searching for her since this afternoon. She was supposed to come and see me…" Amy halted when she saw the withering expression on Iris' face.

"She has been taken, Amy. She is to be the prize for the prince."

"The prize for the prince!" Amy exclaimed in disbelief, "When has he ever seen her? Doesn't tradition dictate that the maiden be one of his own choosing?"

"Apparently he chose her this morning when she was in the fields. She was taken out on the path to your place, Amy. A woman nearby saw them…saw them take a scarab beetle to her neck and stick her on a wagon. Then I sent word to the palace, and the word is that she is to be the prize. My two daughters…" Iris trailed off as Amy hugged her tightly.

"I will try and figure out something. Raye and Lita will watch over Mina. Do not fear Iris, Abba will provide." Even as she spouted words of comfort, the gears in her head were already turning. The only way to save Selene is to somehow convince the prince that she was too valuable to be some symbolic sacrifice. Arriving at a convoluted and dangerous solution, Amy turned to Iris and asked for Selene's dowry gown and for a clean linen tunic. And then she went off into the tonight intent on the rescue of an innocent.

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Zachariah felt the blood rush to the lower parts of his anatomy as the dance finished in an explosion of movement and color. As the women filed out of the room, he couldn't help but to wonder at the hopelessness of it all. Some of Egypt's bureaucracies were completely inefficient not to mention pointless. As soon as Endymion took the pharaohship, he, along with the other four, would be able to create changes in the system that would benefit them all. Yet even as he possessed many aspirations for his future in politics, he had little to no plans concerning having a harem and eventually children. Ignorant yet beautiful women annoyed him, and sadly, they seemed to be the most prevalent kind around. Sure they were good for a tumble in bed, but this was his life. He wanted someone trustworthy and loyal, a woman who could satisfy his physical and mental needs. 'Women, who needs them?'

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Lita just wanted to pound on something as hundreds of eyes followed Mina's exit. She was just about to follow after with Raye when she discovered that she wasn't by her side anymore. Slightly pissed at Raye's abandonment but more anxious to get to Mina, she shrugged and started after the dancers. So intent on her destination was she that when someone grabbed her by the forearm, she almost growled.

"What do you want?" She snarled as she tried to shake off the offending grip. The same little boy whose eyes nearly popped out when she was preparing the pheasants gulped loudly. Feeling guilty, she softened her expression before prodding him again.

"The head chef says that there is someone to see you in the ante-room. She says it's important that you go right now. She says that she'd whoop me if you don't come with me," he explained quickly as his grip on her tugged her along.

Torn between duty and friendship, she reluctantly followed the boy. She couldn't bear to have him beaten due to her disobedience, and Raye was probably already with Mina anyway.

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Natum was the third to slip from the table. Kenlum had been the first to go when the dance had just finished and Jaden soon followed. Natum made his way to the kitchens and consequently the ante-rooms. Servants and slaves stopped in their work to gawk at him in his royal robes. Smiling genially at them, he went on. When he had barely finished his food, he immediately had his personal attendant to speak with the head chef. The food was absolutely genius, and he wanted to request the chef to cook for him permanently. However, when the servant returned with the message the one who prepared the pheasant and grains was a young slave, he became immensely amused. A slave, who has the imagination of a beetle, cooking up such marvelous confections, the idea was preposterous! He knew he had to arrange to meet the woman, and perhaps if she was as interesting as he thought, he could offer her the position of his personal chef. He entered the ante-room only to find someone already waiting for him, although apparently impatiently. The sight of her hands propped on luscious hips as her lips tightened in a sexy frown, the only words that left his mouth before he found himself no more than a foot apart from her was, "Well, well. What do we have here?"

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Raye struggled helplessly as the gag in her mouth prevented any sounds to escape. She had briefly left Lita's side when someone called for her that she was gagged with a vile cloth and bound from the behind. Rough hands tugged her from her friend and the hall, and she was ruthlessly pulled into a myriad of halls and rooms. She managed a few backward kicks before a heavy elbow dug into her spine. Crumpling in pain, she wheezed in pain before committing the moment to memory. If it was one thing she was known for, it was for her red hot temper. When the movement finally stopped, she looked up puzzled. Her head pounded and her body hurt. There were vague memories of shouting and anger blazing, but it didn't come from her. The next thing she knew she was coughing freely, letting the filth expel from her lungs, as someone cut her bonds and rubbed the rope rubbed skin.

"That bastard, I'm so sorry…" the man said gently as he brushed the hair out of her eyes as her breath returned to normal.

"I don't understand. He came out of nowhere…" she muttered darkly as she eyed a prone figure on the ground, anger boiling inside of her. She winced when the man touched a particular cut spot on her wrist and turned quickly to him. Their close proximity was shocking as she could see the obsidian of his eyes and the perfect structure of his face. Her lips suddenly felt irritatingly dry and without thought she licked them. She sucked in a breath when he suddenly leaned in to kiss her.

--------------------------------------------

Jaden didn't see it coming. One minute he was a hot second away from tasting those ruby lips and the next minute he was nursing an aching jaw. She stood a few feet away from him, shaking in rage.

"You told him to bring me here," she accused. The guilty look in his eyes gave her his answer.

"How dare you… you creep! Stop watching me, stop following me, and stop sending guards after me!" She shouted as she made for the door in long angry strides.

Jaden, now recovered from that amazingly strong slug, moved fast. He couldn't let her get away from him again. His fingers wrapped around her forearm and jerked her body to his in a fluid motion.

"What the…"

"I never told him to hurt you. He'll pay for this. Please…you have to believe me," he said in a voice too raw to identify.

She tried to move out of his grip once again but to no avail.

"Why does it matter? You don't even know my name," she snarled. There was something about this man that made her want to listen to him, and that was enough to keep her fighting.

"You're right. What's your name?" He loosened his grip some, but not enough for her to escape him. His hand went to massage her now flowing hair after coming loose from the struggling.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?" Raye allowed herself to enjoy the tingling sensation flowing from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes before shutting out all her betraying emotions. She couldn't think around the man, and if she didn't get away soon, she may find herself never wanting to leave.

"You have no obligation to tell me. My name is Jaden," he offered. Slowly he released her as he sensed that she didn't want any more man-handling. As easily as it would be to order her as a son of the Pharaoh he hesitated in doing so. She didn't know who he was, and it was exhilarating. He was free to be whoever he wanted with her!

She looked at him suspiciously but risked a semi-smile.

"Why are you doing all of this?" She asked slowly as she stood before him.

"I just wanted to meet you," he lied. If tonight was any indication of his wants and desires, meeting her was just the tip of the iceberg.

"My name is Raye," she confessed, "I have to go. I have to find my friends…"

"If I can help in any way…" he started, but she was already gone.

'Until next time, Raye,' Jaden expelled a breath of relief before turning back to the still-unconscious guard.

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The first thing Mina did was to throw on her cloak and unbound her hair. Rubbing the sore hair roots, she waited impatiently for Raye and Lita. The show was a success, and although she nearly stumbled, she was just glad to be out of there. Aside from the dancers in the chamber, servants were beginning to come in as well. It wasn't until the servants started heading for her and a few of the other women did she understand their mission.

"General Khalid has requested your audience. You are to report to…" one servant stated.

"No! Lord Bavaji was first!" another interrupted.

"Fiends, out of the way! The royal advisor Auktumnamen has summoned the slave," one more added.

As more and more courtiers crowded around Mina, the circle closed into her. 'There's no way Raye or Lita would find me in this,' she thought as she eyed the openings between the warring messengers.

She made her move when a fist started the melee, and under the risk of kicking feet and swinging fists, she managed to stumble of the circle with minor scratches. Disgusted with the servants and their masters' commands, she dusted herself off as she exited through the back portal.

"That's quite a scene you've caused in there," a deep voice sounded from behind her. The hallway was dark and cramped. Mina swerved around to face the intruder. His body took up most of the span of the corridor.

"Leave me alone," she hissed, "Tell your master that I'm not interested."

"I was not aware they required your interest, slave," he retorted. His tone was not cruel or biting though, it was more curious. Mina cursed under her breath and decided to try another tactic with the persistent messenger.

Trailing a finger down the man's chest, she smiled saucily at him as she moved closer.

"I'm certainly not required to be interested although I've been told that it helps," she whispered as she leaned even closer. That had been a mistake. The man was built like a rock, and a simple lingering touch on his chest gave her the knowledge. He smelled clean too, and even in the darkness, she could tell he had a handsome face from the outlines of his jaw and cheekbones. As much as she despised what he was here for, she knew that she was foolishly attracted to him.

"You shouldn't play with fire," he said passively as he studied her with a contemplative look. Mina opened her mouth in shock and indignation, her pride smarting. She was by no means vain, but when the man looked at her with less interest than a statue, she was naturally curious. She found the man absolutely gorgeous, and he hadn't even noticed her!

'Maybe he just can't see well in the dark light,' she reasoned. Gaining some brazen courage she most definitely did not inherit from her meek mother, she pressed her body against his as her arms wound around his neck.

"Do you not finding me of interest?" She asked softly even as the man changed beneath her very hands.

----------------------------------------------

He warned her, he did. When Kenlum followed the escaping girl to the passageway, he had no intention of ending up in her arms. 'Well, not until we got to the bedroom at least.' The slave obviously had no idea of his identity as she didn't seem the type to brazenly throw herself at strange men. He knew she was teasing him at first and was going to knee him in the groin or do something painful later. So instead, he steeled his reaction against her sensual assault and devised to use it against her.

But what a vision she was. The lighting was perfect for some midnight adventure in the sheets. The gold hair that first captured his attention was now flowing freely against her back. The cloak she put on over her performing clothes only made him want to peel the fabric off of her. She was even more beautiful up close, and the gold gleam in her eyes made him want to claim her as his.

Thus when she pressed herself even closer to him, inadvertently of her own volition, he smirked in his victory for before raising his hands to keep her there. His entire body responded to the girl, and she gasped at feeling of him throbbing against her thigh. She had been caught, and she knew it.

Laughing in joy and desire, he looked down at her flushed cheeks and wide eyes.

"You can't say that I didn't warn you," he said.

Scowling slightly as she tried to wriggle and squirm out of his hold, Mina glared at him.

"You tricked me," she accused even as he pressed her harder against him. This strange man managed to trick her to his own advantage, and she can't stop wanting him. 'You are such a fool,' she told herself.

"Stop squirming like that," he commanded softly and she obediently stilled.

"Tell me your name," he said tightly as he leashed his body from taking her against the wall, an option looking better by the second.

"It's Mina," she answered softly, too preoccupied with the feeling of excitement and anticipation and the sight of his tempting lips.

He smiled briefly before dipping his head down to kiss her. She told herself she would resist, that she would push him away or try and knee him. So when she found herself returning the kiss and pulling him closer, she surprised them both. Their tongues melded hotly together.

Out of the group of girls, Mina was most sexually experienced one. It would sometimes embarrass Selene to no end when Mina would pine or complain about the flavor of the week. But the man in her arms was a different breed all together. He had anticipated her move and countered it. It was almost like he could see inside her head and figure how exactly how to hit her the hardest.

When his hand found its way to a soft breast, she stopped thinking. Kenlum was finding it hard to stand. Her moans of encouragement seemed to resound in the hall, only to come back to fuel his desire for her. He knew she would be something to treasure even as he watched her dance, but she had shocked him even further with her actions. The combination of her heady scent and her soft body surrounding him was driving him wild. He ground his hips against hers and felt her respond.

Moaning into the kiss, Mina pressed herself even closer. 'The man had absolutely no decorum! Anyone who walked by could see us…' she thought even as she tilted her chin to allow for his lingering kisses.

'How could one taste so beautiful? Like sunshine…' Kenlum pressed one hand into the soft curve of her hip, massaging the area in circular motions.

When they broke apart, he held her to him, their foreheads touching.

Half smiling at the sensations pulsating within her, her usual cool sensibility returned. Mina slowly realized that whoever the man was, she was still to be treated as a slave. He was probably just getting a taste before handing her over to the master. Anger and disappointment boiled within her, and she tried to pry herself out of his arms.

"Who sent you?" She asked coldly.

Kenlum, bewildered at her sudden change of attitude, let her go abruptly.

"No one sent me…" he answered, unsure of what she where was going with her line of questioning.

"Then why have you followed me out here?" she demanded, her arms crossed over her chest with her back turned to him.

"I saw you dance…" he began but stopped at the apparently stiffening of her body.

"You were aroused by the show, were you? Let me tell you something, I wanted nothing to do with that performance or what it represented. But the clever Egyptians threatened to kill not only me but all the other dancers and all my family if I didn't comply. Surely they offered the other girls similar offers…talk about an offer you can't refuse. And when I finish my job, I have people like you chasing after me for a little taste! So watching me and violating me with your eyes weren't enough? You disgust me," she finished exhausted, half slumping against the cool stone of the wall.

Kenlum was torn between anger and concern. The girl was obviously hurt and tired, but the mention of her disgust with him riled him to no end.

"I didn't seem to disgust you a minute ago, and why are you telling me all this? You know I could easily turn you in for treason."

Shaking her head slowly, she remained silent. 'Why had I just ranted at him like that? You were ashamed of yourself and what you did tonight, and when some mysterious stranger comes and gives you the kiss of your life, you realize that he's just like the rest of them…'

"Please just leave me alone," she said finally as she moved away from him. He did nothing to stop her as she slowly disappeared into the darkness.

'This isn't over,' he vowed to himself as he turned back toward his chambers too tired and too shocked to return to the feast.

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Endymion stood before the Pharaoh and received his blessings. The feast for him was at an end. The rest of Egypt would be reveling even as he claimed the girl awaiting him. Turning slowly, he left the great hall with Zachariah beside him. His other friends were no where to be found.

"So are you nervous?" Zachariah asked as they rounded the stairs leading to the royal chambers.

"I've been ready for tonight for twenty years now. She will be mine," he answered, a host of meanings behind his words.

Zachariah said nothing until Endymion reached the final set of stairwells. Placing his hand on Endymion's shoulder, Zachariah sighed wearily at his friend.

"This is not revenge, Endymion…"

Surprised and displeased at his friend's insight, Endymion could only return the friendly gesture. Silently, he started towards his chamber, his slave, and his future.

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Selene was scratching around in the large closet when she heard a multitude of praises outside the room. Someone was coming. She could either hide in the closet and be dragged out later when the guards come in to find her or she could just stand proudly in the middle of the room and face the bastard as he comes in. She opted for the second vowing that she would never cower in fear of evil. 'Abba be with me,' she prayed silently as she smoothed the robe over her body and stood regally directly in front of the doorway. This was it, the doors were already creaking open. Taking a deep breath of air for confidence and courage, she faced the person who entered. As the door snapped shut behind him, she felt her lungs deflate when her eyes met with her destiny.


	3. Surprises

Natum studied the woman curiously. She was scowling at him defiantly yet she had held back whatever insults were in her head. She knew that he was someone important, or someone who at least posed some danger to her if she pissed him off. Something about her fiery glare told him that if he wasn't careful, he might end up roasted to perfection like those tasty pheasants. 'Don't be silly. She's a slave…what's the worst that she can do?'

"I am told that you were the slave in charge of cooking most of tonight's fare," he began, still less than a foot from her. She was tall and had to barely lift her head in order to stare into his eyes with that death glare.

"What of it, sire?" She replied coolly. Although she called him 'sire', her tone of voice was anything but submissive. Natum hid a grin. The woman's antics were amusing as hell, and always looking for a good joke, Natum decided to milk this for all its worth.

"I'm here to offer you a position of personal chef to Prince Natum, military advisor to first Prince Endymion. Your culinary skill was much admired," Natum replied. He could see the pulse at her temple bating rapidly. A sudden urge to press his lips against it filled him as his eyes trained on the spot.

"What are you staring at?" She snapped coldly. Natum realized that he must've spaced out a few moments when his eyes met hers again. This time, his desire must have been reflected in his eyes as the slave retreated.

Ignoring her, he took another step forward and followed her increasingly desperate movements until she literally growled at him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She hissed as she raised one arm defensively and the other offensively.

'Did the girl think she'd fight me?' He thought as one eyebrow rose in confusion.

"Why are you running away from me? I'm giving you a job most other slaves would kill for. You'd be well-fed, your family honored…who knows, and you could even catch the eye of one of the princes…why aren't you kissing my feet for this chance of a lifetime?" Natum asked genuinely shocked. He knew his words to be true and that if anything the slave would be thanking the gods right now. Instead the woman looked angrier by the second as if his words had insulted her beyond belief. If she looked angry before, she was positively on fire now.

---------------------------

Lita had despised the man the minute he swaggered into the room. Arrogance oozed out of the man, and she had to literally restrain herself from slugging him or kneeing him when he eyed her like a common whore. But she controlled herself. She was aggressive not stupid. The man was either very rich, highly respected, or both. She wasn't summoned here for a regular courtier.

'Still, if he doesn't back up, I'll rip him a new one,' Lita thought darkly. When the man stared at her with lust clearly written in his eyes, she panicked. Something just as powerful as her independence and anger burned in the pit of her stomach. For that split second, she wanted to step toward him, the strange Egyptian who had found her desirable. More importantly, she had found that she was compelled to feel the same. The man was beautiful and strong…

Instead of following on her instincts, she backed away from him. The anger returned stronger than ever because this time she was angry at herself too. She wanted to push him away and pull him closer in equal parts. The revelation was too startling to ignore.

'I shouldn't be here. I need to find Raye and Mina! I need to get out of here…away from him,' she reminded herself. So to follow through on her thoughts and most importantly keep her hands off of him, she put her arms up to protect herself.

"Why are you running away from me? I'm giving you a job most other slaves would kill for. You'd be well-fed, your family honored…who knows, and you could even catch the eye of one of the princes…why aren't you kissing my feet for this chance of a lifetime?" The man asked now genuinely shocked and confused.

The words angered Lita to no end. 'The bastard really had no idea…catch the eye of one of the princes? More like be trapped by their hedonistic needs,' she thought bitterly and her resolve to leave and forget about him forever hardened.

"I'd rather die than to serve under your princes and false gods. And you can keep your self-righteous honor to yourself," she spat before making a beeline for the closest door. What she was doing was dangerous, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could be in the room without doing something even worse.

Surprisingly, she made it to the door undeterred. The man hadn't followed her or even shouted out to her like she had expected. Consumed by a burning curiosity and a feeling akin to longing, she turned her head to see him standing where she had left him. When their eyes met, he smiled, and she knew that she had been tricked. Dashing quickly into the corridor, she sprinted as if her very life depended on it.

-------------------------------------

Natum's cheeks were beginning to ache from grinning so much. When she moved to run, he had debated on chasing after her. He didn't when he realized that he wouldn't be able to make her do anything against her will. But when she had turned to him before disappearing, he read something in her eyes that pleased him to no end. She hadn't wanted to leave. A simple part of her had wanted to stay in that room with him, and she had made the fatal mistake of letting him see it. Now there was no stopping him.

'By the time I'm done, I'll have more than a taste of your delicious food,' he thought to himself even as something within him told him to run away from whatever happened here tonight and never look back.

'Don't be silly, Natum. She's just a slave…what's the worse she can do?'

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Amy approached the palace quietly in order to avoid detection by the patrolling guards. The linen robe was sheer in candlelight, and she didn't trust any guards she might encounter on such a night. Skirting around the main entrance ways, she made her way to the service corridors. Although her plan to save Selene was far from perfect, she was certain that she would try to conceal herself to the others until it was absolutely necessary.

'I wonder if the others have managed to get Mina yet…I could really use some support on this,' she thought to herself.

The service halls were empty except for a couple of maids and slaves moving around. Taking a breath for courage, she rushed across the hall towards the courtyard. The temples where the priests and priestesses are across the yard, and if anyone was able to stop the union, he or she would be there.

Deep in thought and concentration, she had to double take when her eyes set on a place she never thought she's see. The room was to her direct right, and its contents dazzled her. Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she scurried into the large chamber before she could think better of it.

'The royal library,' she thought reverently as her eyes traveled over the tall shelves loaded with papyrus scrolls. The amount of knowledge found in this room…it was overwhelming for her.

'If only I could spend one day in here, it would be enough…' Amy thought wistfully.

Telling herself that seeing the place was better than nothing and that she had to go because Selene needed her, she turned on her heel to make her way back towards her original destination. But her shoulders sagged and her step was heavier. Never had she been so aware that her dreams may never come true simply because she was born a slave. So heartbroken yet determined, she didn't notice the man watching her curiously and then following her across the courtyard.

---------------------------------------

"You're eyes are blue…" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. The outburst shocked the man as much as her. But then again, everything about the night had surprised her.

The man standing before her was royalty; there was no doubt about that. His attire was glistening even in the dim candlelight with traces of gold, almost the luster of his copper skin. The short onyx colored hair that topped his head looked almost like material of her robe, smooth and soft to the touch. His face was lean and resembled a precise sharpness that rivaled those of the best statues. Tall, strong, and lithe, the sight of the man made her tremble for something other than fear. But it was those eyes of his that made it impossible to look away from him.

'He had blue eyes…I've never seen blue eyes like those. And aside from me and Mina…I've never seen blue eyes in Egypt at all…'

The man laid a hand firmly on her forearm, and suddenly she snapped back to reality. Despite the man and his impossible handsomeness, she must never forget that he was evil. He was responsible for her being here tonight.

In a fit of abrupt rage, she threw his hand off of her arm, and backed away from him proudly and defiantly.

Anger replaced the surprise in his stormy eyes, and Selene gasped. It was obvious that the worst was still to come.

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Loud chanting filled the temple. Echoes resounded throughout the large building as bodies swirled and swayed to the rhythm of mystical chants. Priests were murmuring ancient prayers and the priestess danced before the statues of Thoth and Chons. Fabric swirling and limbs twisting, those who were in attendance, including the Pharaoh and his many wives, could only look upon the ceremony with a sense of detached awe and fear. The last time the ceremony was performed, it was performed for Tekum III, Endymion's father, over four decades ago.

Suddenly, the chanting lowered to a faint hum as the chief priest and priestess stepped before the statues. The chamber hushed as the two began their own prayers. One priest, called the guardian, stood in the moonlight, awaiting the signal from the gods. The prayer continued. No one noticed the two figures entering the temple. One dressed in white linen and the other in Egyptian royal robes.

--------------------------------------------------------

At first sight, Endymion recognized her by her proud stance and couldn't help but to feel a bit thrilled by the challenge she presented. Coming from the brightly lit hall, it took him a minute to adjust his sight to the dimness of the room. She stood directly in front of him, daring him to come closer. It took less time to take in her exotic features than it did for him to get use to the lighting.

The girl had yellow hair… well more like amber in the candlelight. He saw the blonde dancer during dinner and was understandably delighted by it. But this woman's hair did something different to him altogether… he had an urge to ran his fingers through it, to make sure it was real.

She was beautiful. He wasn't sure if that was good for him. 'Remember what she's for? Don't let a pretty face distract you…'

But then she spoke the last words he ever expected.

"You're eyes are blue…" She muttered huskily.

Sure his eyes have been the topic of debate for most of his life, and he always got the impression that others looked down on him for having such amusing but weird eyes before. The way the slave said it showed no jealous contempt. She said it reverently and joyously as if he was more than a royal freak cursed by a star. Perhaps it was because she had blue eyes too…

Endymion suddenly realized that he's found someone like himself, and that after tonight, he'd never forget her for the rest of his life. After all, the whole purpose of her being here was a part of an important ritual in his life. How could he forget the woman who accompanied him on such a rare occasion?

'But my father…she is a slave, Endymion! She is one of those animals who were discontent with their life and chose to make you and the whole country suffer for it. They are murderers…' his mind reminded him sternly.

Almost growling in sudden emotion, he closed the gap between them in a few quick strides and gripped her forearm. Touching her had been a mistake. Her skin was too soft and smooth…

Shaking his head at himself, he wanted to push her to kneel on her knees or to cower in fear and submission. He wanted her to know that he was the boss and always would be even as his heart broke when he saw her wince in shock and pain.

Then with a violent passion she broke away from him. 'The slave had fight in her, but she will submit eventually,' he told himself even as he could feel himself tense up in frustration and fury. If only his father could force the slaves into submission, he would still be ruling today…

Like a panther stalking a cornered rabbit, he moved forward again. But this time, she didn't flee. Instead, she stood to her full height, which was still a full head less than him, and readied herself for the attack. Smirking, Endymion rushed forward only to have her jump toward him at the same time. The result was quite interesting indeed.

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The prayers turned feverish as sweat beaded on the priest and priestess' foreheads. The priest represented Endymion to the gods whereas the priestess represented the woman and Egypt. They waited for the sign yet it did not come. The guardian, or the priest who stood watch at the night sky, was shaking. If the sign did not come, then the gods must be displeased…

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Amy hid behind one of the pillars, darkness cloaking her position. Her heart was pounding yet she refused to flee. Selene depended on her. The other girls didn't know what was going on…if she didn't try to save her friend, there would be no hope left.

She watched the ritual with a wary eye. One of the scrolls Raye brought her dealt with religious rites, and she knew the priests were waiting for a heavenly sign that would probably never come. The polytheistic religion never appealed to Amy except in a purely scholastic manner. She knew the one true God, the God of the slaves…

'Focus, Amy! You have to somehow catch them at the moment of weakness. You will be the sign tonight…Abba give me strength,' she thought as she crept closer and closer to altar, knapsack tight around her shoulders.

"Glorious, glorious, sturdy and mighty. Hear thy son's plea, O mighty Thoth!" The chief priests' mighty chant made her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Great, great, powerful and lovely. Hear thy daughter's cry, O lovely Chons!" The chief priestess followed in a high-pitched screech.

Amy knew they were getting desperate. Midnight drew near, and tradition dictates that the sign must be received before then or else the woman would be killed and replaced. Then the ceremony would cycle again until the signal is received every hour. However, they usually preferred for it to work on the first cycle as superstition ran deep and they believed it unlucky to have to choose another woman over the prince's first pick.

Amy had to move quickly to convince them that she was not only the heaven-sent signal but that Selene was also unsuitable as the prince's prize. They would bristle in indignation and superstition, but if she played her cards right, they would fear the wrath of their untrue gods and let Selene go.

She was about to ease herself into the view of the guardian when a warm hand on her mouth stopped her in her tracks. Veering around in fear, she faced her captor.

-------------------------------------------

The hand she had stuck out to claw him with landed on his head quite harmlessly as he caught her knee with one hand, pulling her leg against his body. Her other arm landed ungraciously on his wide shoulder when she had to steady herself against toppling completely on him. His other hand was buried deep in her hair.

"How?" She murmured in confusion as all the anger and hatred she felt towards him disappeared at the sensation of his fingers on her skin.

Endymion was just as surprised at this turn of events, but he was too focused on the woman in his arms to say anything about it. Instinctively, his breathing quickened when he felt the firm softness pressed against him. Her fingers stirred in his hair, and his gaze locked onto her lips.

"Who are you?" She whispered softly as she tried to meet his eyes, completely overwhelmed by the series of unforeseen events.

Instead of answering, he dipped his head to kiss her soundly on the lips. Pulling her leg closer to him and massaging her masses of hair, he felt her yield and sink even further into the kiss.

---------------------------------------------

"Who are you?" Zachariah asked the wide-eyed woman. She looked helplessly at him before pointing to her hand-covered mouth with a trembling finger.

"If I let you go, you have to promise not to scream. I will call the guards on you and tell them that you've been in the library," he warned as he slowly eased his hand from her lips. It was just as well; her feathery breaths were tickling him and her velvet lips were making his mouth dry.

He knew that she hadn't done it on purpose though. When he mentioned the library, he watched her eyes fall. He didn't want to hurt her feelings…he was just curious as to what she was doing at the palace. He had heard her soft gasps of awe in the library and had watched her leave crestfallen. 'Was it possible that there was someone else who loved the library as much as I did?' he had thought as he followed her across the courtyard.

And Zachariah knew that whatever she was planning on doing, she was very focused and concentrated. Anyone else would've detected him following already.

"I'm the bearer of the signal, sire," she whispered quietly.

Zachariah's brows lifted.

"For the ritual? But it's always been a shooting star or meteorite…"

"I brought the signal. I must go or else I shall miss the deadline," Amy insisted as she edged away from the man.

"You are but a woman," he stated flatly.

"And you are but a man," she replied softly before slipping completely in view of the guardian.

--------------------------------------------

Selene's head was spinning so hard that her eyes were shut tight against the dizziness. Heart beating hard against her ribcage, fingers sinking and scraping at soft hair, hips pressing against something foreign…wait, something foreign? She pulled her head back against the man until she could gather her wits about her. Pretty much in the same position as pre-kiss, she suddenly blushed at her appearance.

Her finger touched her swollen lips delicately and thoughtfully as she surveyed the damage.

The dress had been pushed up way past her thigh when he held her knee, and her hand was still glued to the man's hair and shoulder. Blushing angrily at herself, she snatched her hands back and wriggled out of his grip. Pulling her dress down again, she walked a feet away from him and from the bed.

'We just kissed! I just kissed a stranger! And I liked it! What was I thinking?' She thought frantically as she looked at everything except for him and the bed.

"I am the firstborn Prince of Egypt, and you are my prize," he said suddenly, breaking the silence and answering her forgotten question.

Then without another word, she returned to face him within seconds and delivered a hard slap that echoed within the room.

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"Guardian! Thy signal waits," she called out loudly as heads snapped to her direction.

The priest eyed her puzzled as his gaze darted back toward the sky. Gasps arose when she walked closer to the altar as the candlelight exposed her body beneath the robe.

"What is the meaning of this?" The guardian demanded quickly and softly.

"I have the signal, guardian, and I have a message for you. Shall we speak in private?" Amy laid down the gauntlet in a clear and strong voice despite her frazzled nerves.

Eyeing her and then the priests, he nodded slowly. He didn't dare risk a publicized divine message in case it was bad. He led her to an outside balcony. The moonbeams caused Amy to glow in her white attire, and the effect wasn't missed by the wide-eyed guardian.

"Speak signal. Although, this is quite unprecedented," he whispered hurriedly. Amy inwardly sighed in relief. She had timed well. The priests were so eager for a sign that they would've taken a crocodile striding into the temple as a heaven sent message.

"It is unprecedented because the prize is unprecedented…" Amy began mystically.

"You mean the Prince's chosen woman?"

Amy nodded before continuing with the hardest part, convincing them to let Selene go. "She is one of high priestess for the God of the slaves. The gods are angered and refuse to bless the consummation. The Prince must choose again."

"How say thee? The Prince was given free choice over the women of the land. It is displeasing to the gods for him to choose again… and you, woman child, how proves you this mighty proclamation?" For the first time, the guardian regarded her with a measuring and suspicious look.

Amy suppressed a gulp and opened her knapsack. Inside was Selene's dowry gown. A silken creation lined with crystal white stones that sparkled back into the night. She raised the dress high above her head and when the moonbeams kissed the stones, the dress sparkled to life. The fluttering of wind gave the shine a long tail. The guardian was awed. A collective gasp from inside sounded as well for the brightness of the garment had caught their attention.

The dress itself had been a mystery. Amy didn't know how Iris managed to have such a rare dress for Selene's dowry, and Iris never told her. What Amy did know was that Iris prepared a similar one for Mina but the other shined yellow and orange in sunlight. She would've never known of their existence if she hadn't accidentally stumbled across them playing hide-and-seek as a child. Iris had told her to never mention their existence to Selena and to Mina. Amy had never seen them again until tonight.

But by the way the priests eyed each other, then her, and then the dress again; Amy knew that if anything would've done the job, it would be the dress.

The guardian turned to her again.

"So you're saying that she is the reason the gods have not given us a signal?"

"Correct."

"But the gods have given us her robe…"

"To show you that she must remain a priestess to the God of the slaves and not become anything else."

Nodding solemnly, the superstitious lout turned to the chief priest and priestess and whispered among them.

Amy folded the robe up neatly again, her palms clammy as she waited for their answer. It was almost midnight…

---------------------------------------------

Endymion was stunned at the furious woman in front of him. He had just been smacked, hard, by a slave after revealing his status and power to her! It hurt too, and he was man enough to admit it. But one look at her trembling and swollen hand, he knew it probably hurt her more. A part of him resented her pain…

The slave was trembling before him with her head lowered but her chin still proudly set. She was furious and knew that any moment he could kill her yet she refused to kneel before him, the proper etiquette. Not to mention that she'd slapped him!

Endymion couldn't help himself. His hand reached out to her chin. Tipping her head slightly up although she refused to look at him, he could see that hot, angry tears were flowing down her cheeks. Using the pad of his thumb, he wiped a tear away tenderly, an action he had never known himself to be capable of emulating.

"I am not your prize," she whispered, "And you are no Prince to me."

Endymion stiffened briefly at her defiant words, but he could no longer control the flow of feelings coursing through him.

This time, he tipped her chin up even higher until her eyes met his. 'She has grey-blue eyes…' he noted mentally before speaking.

"I am the firstborn Prince of Egypt, and you are _mine_."

They were each filled with intense fury, Selene for the exploit of Mina's talents and for the suffering inflicted on the slaves and Endymion for the murder of his father and for his rising feelings for the rebellious beauty in front of him. With heated looks that somehow translated into desire and the need to physically dominate the other, their lips locked as the moon disappeared behind the clouds.

Even as they pulled each other into another passionately angry embrace, neither wanting to give the other the upper hand, there was an outpour of people from a temple across the courtyard headed directly to in their direction with a white robed woman leading them.


	4. Magic

Lita's thoughts were running a mile a minute as she made her way out of the palace. Aside from feeling guilty about never meeting up with Mina and Raye, she also felt stupid for looking like a hopeless fool in front of that bastard. A chilly breeze brushed against her, making her shudder and reminding her of the way the man had made her feel hot and feverish…

'And then you just had to look back at him! As if you cared!' She scolded herself as she rubbed her arms with her hands. She was so deep in thought that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she rounded a corner and saw Raye and Mina rushing at her.

"Where have you been?" Raye hissed.

"I…Wait, where did you go?" Lita countered as she blushed.

"What's going on, you two?" Mina asked quietly as she led them further away from the palace and away from any potential guards.

"Remember that Egyptian loser I was telling you about? He got some guard to kidnap me! It took me a while to get away from him, and when I went back to find you, I couldn't, so I figured you went to get Mina while I was gone," Raye explained, opting to leave out the fact that she left tonight with a different impression of the man.

"Well, I was summoned to the kitchen, and some fucker harassed me for a while before I could leave. I assumed that you had gone to find Mina, so I decided to try and find you guys outside the palace. Did everything go okay when you left?" Lita asked Mina as she tried to forget the encounter in the kitchen.

"Yeah," Mina said as she briefly recounted her tale minus the meeting with the man in the corridor. She still wasn't quite sure about the feelings that he stirred within her and for the first time in her life, felt a bit rattled and shy about the subject.

As the three women started back toward the slave quarters, their pace was slow. Each attributed it to fatigue yet deep down they sensed that they did not really want to leave the palace and the mysterious men who resided within it.

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Iris's knees were bruised from her prostrated position upon the mud floor. Her prayers were loud and incoherent to mortal ears. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as the room filled with an iridescent light. A shade crossed between gold and silver caressed her thick black hair and her sweat-soaked back as if a gentle hand was soothing her shaking body.

Ever since Amy had left with Selene's dowry gown, she had been in this position. It had been twenty years to the night that her life had changed forever. Memories of her beloved husband, Katim, flashed across her mind's eye. Katim's friendly smile when Iris was but a blushing virgin, his strong arms carrying her over their threshold the night of their marriage, and the wide span of his shoulders in her view as he made love to her…

Finally the picture of his anguished yet defiant face as he was publicly humiliated and executed hit her again and again. Every day before she awoke and every night before she slept, she saw that image. When Abba appeared to her two months later, she was no longer surprised about anything. By that time she was ready to die and reunite with her husband.

But Abba gave her a mission and redemption. He gave her a chance for justice. Seven months after Katim's execution, she gave birth to two golden-haired girls just as Abba had explained. She raised them for almost twenty years according to the directions Abba gave her. Tonight, she gave one of the gowns Abba provided her with to Amy so that His plan could begin.

She had never told the twins of their destiny and their knowledge of their father was limited. Iris taught them to embrace the lovely and exotic features bestowed to them by Abba and to never give into evil. For almost twenty years, the twins and later friends of their choosing were secretly trained for a mission they had yet to find out about.

Yet despite her faith and obedience to Abba, she was always worried for her girls. When Selene and Mina were young, Iris had been afraid that the Egyptian Royals would find cause to destroy them. To their skewed view, the girls were the spawn of a murderer. However, Abba protected them like His, and no one dared to lay an ill-meant hand on the twins. Even the few slaves who believed that Katim was guilty could not help but to find his children of his seed enchanting.

Even if the twins were the children of the murderer of Pharaoh Tekum III…

But tonight everything had changed. Abba's plan had been set to motion, and Iris was powerless. When she had first heard that the Prince had chosen Selene as his prize, a part of her feared that the Prince had learned of Selene's father and wanted her for revenge. Her fervent prayers to Abba remained unanswered except for the assurance that it was time for the girls, Selene, Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy, to face their destiny.

Crying out again for her God and for her husband, Iris buried her face into her hands as she gave over all control to Abba. Beside her, the golden gown made for Mina glowed warmly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Amy was mid-stride when she felt an intense cold sensation on her back. Cries of fear and awe came from behind her as the parade of Egyptians pointed and whispered behind her back. The sack holding the silver dress was glowing!

"What is the meaning of this?" The guardian asked fearfully as his eyes remained glued to the object.

Amy suddenly felt soothed and calmed by the sensations on her back. Before she could answer, another voice cut in.

"Guardian, the gods are impatient. It approached midnight, and the slave priestess' honor will soon be compromised irreversibly," a man said. By his voice and features, Amy immediately recognized him as the man who grabbed her in the temple. She schooled her features to not give away her knowledge as she nodded in agreement.

"Wise words, your Intelligence. We hurry forth," the guardian nodded to a few priests who took off running toward the palace.

Amy resumed her quick steps even as the man kept up with her pace. As they rounded the stairs leading to the entrance of the Royal Chambers, he leaned in and whispered something in her ear causing her eyes to widen in trepidation and worry.

"I know you are an impostor yet I'll keep this between us if you will give me your name."

Ahead of them, Amy could see the priests exchanging words with the bewildered guards. Soon they began pounding on the door.

During this cacophony, she looked the man straight in the eye and said,

"I am Amilene, daughter of Akham and Tziporah."

With a nod, the man turned and strolled away. Amy's head turned back to the scene outside the chamber even as her heart knew that it wouldn't be last time she'd hear of the man. Secretly, a part of her smiled at the knowledge.

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The kiss was drugging, and Endymion found his mind trapped in a haze. To say that it had been gentle whispers and slow caresses between them would be to lie. Nothing about their embrace was passive or tender.

He groaned in blissful pain when her nails dug into his shoulder blades just as she moaned throatily when he pulled impatiently at her hair, tilting her head to meet his kisses. When the silken sheets enveloped them, he felt her pull away in a moment of vulnerability and fear. He quickly wrapped one of her legs around his waist to enrage her once again.

How she ended up kissing him harshly again was a mystery to him, but the fact that his little ruse worked pleased him immensely. But right now he was too intent on massaging the smooth skin revealed by the hiked-up robe and feeling her tug at his lower lip. She shifted slightly when he pushed her further into the bed so that she clung to him tightly like a wrestler unwilling to submit to her opponent. The little sigh that escaped her throat showed some sign of submission, urging Endymion on.

He nearly choked when a slim knee rubbed against the center of his desire that she managed to suddenly slip out from under him. She kneeled atop the sheets with her hair mussed and eyes glazed. Small pants could be heard in the silent room as she watched him with weary eyes. For the first time, Endymion finally understood that she really didn't like him. It wasn't some ploy to fool him…the girl didn't like him any more than he liked her. 'So why can't we keep our hands off each other?' He thought as his eyes roamed over her.

Pale moonlight spilled from the window and bathed her in its ethereal glow. She must not have realized that her robe was barely hanging on her within an inch of its life… This time, something had changed about her, about him, about the whole night. This time when he reached for her, he did so slowly, giving her ample time to refuse. His hand extended to cup her tear-streaked cheek as he slowly brought her forward to meet him. His breath expelled from his body in a rush when she complied slowly and even eagerly. Their lips met, and it was magic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Selene wasn't sure why she was still in the room. Under any normal circumstances, she would've broken down the door and run out of the palace like a banshee, consequences be damned.

So why was she still perched atop the Prince's bed? Why was she betraying her heritage with the root of all evil? 'This should be the last place I want to be on Earth, but a part of me will never leave this room…'

The Prince was another mystery. He admitted to her being a possession, and their previous tussle, albeit passionate, was a testament to mastery. She had slipped away from the warm cocoon they made before she found herself giving herself up to him. Now she watched and studied him and still couldn't vanquish her desire for him.

'This isn't right… I am failing Abba…' She wanted to cry out in frustration and in anger, but he was too beautiful to mar with her tears. 'I hate him! He hates me! None of this makes any sense.'

But she couldn't resist any longer when he leaned forward with one hand outstretched. The way he watched her with concern and longing soothed her frazzled nerves. When his thumb caressed her cheek, she gave herself permission to enjoy the touch. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt herself drawing closer to him.

'Abba has a plan for me. This is my destiny,' she told herself when she felt her lips pressed to his. When she brought her free hand up to sink into his hair, she knew that something big was happening.

And then the pounding began.

Her eyes snapped open almost at the same time as his. With one look, the Prince could already tell that he's lost her. The fact that he could see it in her eyes frightened her even more. Selene pulled away from him as he stalked predatorily to the door.

'Abba, what have I done?' She thought as she looked once more at the Prince of Egypt.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The three girls looked at each other in unspoken fear.

"Is everything all right? Amilene said she was going to Selene's. She _is _there, isn't she?" Tziporah asked worriedly in the doorway.

"Definitely, we just thought we'd check here first. We just came from the palace," Raye replied smoothly even as worry welled within her chest.

"Well, go on over there, and tell Amilene to come home soon. She has double duties tomorrow for missing today," Tziporah said before waving the girls off.

Raye, Mina, and Lita walked a safe distance away before voicing their fears.

"Why would Amy still be gone? Do you think she's found Selene?" Mina asked softly.

"Don't be silly. Of course she has," Lita murmured even as she gulped.

"We're being irrational. Why wouldn't Amy be over there? Let's just wait and see, okay? No use worrying about it," Raye replied shortly as her steps quickened.

When the girls reached Mina's hut, they were surprised to find Iris sitting tiredly on her cot. They rushed to her side even as Iris stood up.

"Are Amy and Selene here?" Mina asked fearfully.

With a shake of her head, Iris told them all to take a seat.

"Tonight, I shall tell you many things. Listen carefully, for what I am to reveal were dictated by Abba himself. Tonight, you will find your destinies."


	5. Revelations

**Hey! This is one long chapter, but I hope you like it! It's been a while since I've worked on it, but I promise that I'll finish it. I always have trouble with the endings… to be honest, I'm not sure if this story will have a happy ending or not. Please tell me what you think (Questions and Comments), but I can't read your mind.**

The Pharaoh Salik left the crowd of priests and priestesses at the foot of the grand stairs. Instead of making his way to the Grand Chambers where he resided, he walked quickly instead to the harem. Nodding slightly at the guards following him to dismiss them, he entered the perfumed hall where his many wives lounged and chatted.

At his entrance, the women stopped what they were doing and looked up expectantly at him. Salik scanned over the women, looking for one in particular. When he didn't spot her, he waved the women off and they returned to what they were doing.

Salik moved down corridors and halls and past small waterfalls and gardens lighted by the pale moon. He finally reached his destination… a cozy veranda covered by layers of silk gauze. Inside a single candle flickered, showing the silhouette of a woman sitting and gazing upon the night. Not far off, the rush of the Nile and the swish of sounds as crocodiles entered the river sounded off into silent night.

When Salik reached the veranda, he cleared his throat. The figure within stood and turned to the entranceway as he entered.

"Anack," he said softly and reverently as he took in the sight of her standing before him. Although well into her late-thirties, Anack still retained the poise and beauty she had decades ago when she captured Tekum's heart.

"Pharaoh, how may I help you?" The Prince's mother replied as she bowed slowly.

"Now, now Anack. Don't address me like a stranger. I came on the business of the Prince." Salik moved closer to her.

"He has completed the ceremony has he not? I heard that he chose a slave…" Anack trailed off, her own past flashing before her eyes.

Anack was half slave and half Egyptian. Her father was a slave driver, and she only assumed that her mother was some unwilling slave. When she was born, her father, at least feeling a bit remorseful gave her as a servant to the palace. Even from a young age, she understood that her slave blood would haunt her forever. She grew up thinking that she was cursed and ugly. Tekum was the first one to see her beauty and respect her despite her parentage. Only a few people knew of her past, and when she gave birth to Endymion, the first-born Prince and one-quarter slave, Tekum had threatened treason against anyone who would reveal Anack and Endymion's heritage. At first, Anack resented the slaves, but as she saw the conditions forced upon them, her heart softened. After all, she never blamed the slave Katim, a man Tekum and she came to care for deeply when he worked in the palace, for Tekum's murder. She hoped that under Endymion's rule, the slaves and Egyptians would once again return peace.

"As it turns out, Endymion chose a slave priestess. The situation is complicated," Salik sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in consternation.

"I was not aware the slaves employed priestesses, but why must you worry so? You have your throne…" she snapped angrily at him.

"And what might that imply?" He asked in quiet rage.

"I can't bear to look upon you, not tonight of all nights…" She replied shaking.

Pain and anger flitted across Salik's features as his hand enclosed around her slender wrist.

"You are not as smart as you believe, Anack. My brother was too easy on you; he was always a weakling when it came to you. But don't forget you belong in _my_ harem now. I have been patient with you for the past twenty years, but my patience runs thin. You shall never deny me like this," Salik sneered as his hold tightened even more.

"History repeats itself, don't you think? My mother was raped by a slave driver, and I by my brother-in-law. Tekum was destroyed by one of his own… and I have warmed your bed for twenty years for the sake of my son. If I were you, I'd beware. The gods will give you your just desserts," Anack countered with a proud smirk on her face even as pain etched lines around her eyes.

"I am ordained by the gods. Tonight I am feeling charitable seeing as how it is a momentous day for my nephew, and you shall get what you desire: your solitude," Salik snapped disgustedly as he pushed her away. With one last look, he stalked out of the tent. He had meant to speak with her about Endymion's predicament yet when she scorned him…

'The woman is going to be the ruin of me,' he thought as he made his way back to his chambers. The realization was only more painful when he realized that his entire body was aching for her. Her fire and the passion still blazed bright even after twenty years. She had been right. He had raped her, but it was only because she refused to submit. She never submitted to him.

Salik realized that although he ruled over all of Egypt, he would always be powerless before Anack. After Tekum's murder, tradition dictated that Salik would inherit Tekum's holdings, including the harem, but to him, the power and knowledge that Anack belonged to him… the one woman he ever feared was also the only one he's ever loved. Anack possessed the power of his destruction in more ways than one.

Back where he had left her, Anack's eyes were bright and dry. Twenty years had dried her of all tears. She loved her son as much as she loved Tekum, and the day Endymion took over the throne would be the day Egypt would become whole again. 'I know it was him…Salik killed Tekum…It had to be him,' Anack thought fiercely she returned to her star-gazing once again.

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"What's happening, mama," Mina asked gently as she added some more wood to the fire, warming them. Raye and Lita sat on the floor awkwardly, their long legs stretched out in front of them as Iris reclined across the cot.

"Your father was a wonderful man, Mina. Selene and you remind me so much of him…" Iris said, ignoring Mina's question.

The girls eyed each other. They had all heard rumors, but no one ever spoke of Iris' husband out loud.

"Tell me about him, mama. I want to know after all these years," Mina said, eyes downcast.

"It would be easier if you saw it for yourselves," Iris sighed. The girls looked at her quizzically, and she beckoned them to place their hands in hers. When they did curiously, Iris' eyes closed slowly.

"Now, close your eyes and let Abba guide your hearts," Iris said softly. The girls obeyed as they concentrated on the increasing warmth surrounding them. Then in a flash quicker than lightning, a bright light lit up the room and bathed the four women in its glow.

When their eyes opened again, they were back in the same room…except everything seemed newer and Iris was nowhere to be seen.

Too shocked to speak, the three girls just looked at each other mutely. Sounds came from the doorway, and they all got up to explore. Mina led the way while Raye pulled Lita along. As they approached the bend in the room, they poked their heads out to see who was speaking. At the sight of flowing black hair and those expressive eyes, they all gasped aloud.

"Be safe tonight, Katim. You know how rowdy those generals can be," a young Iris said softly. A tall slave held her steadily within his muscled arms. He was dressed in clean white robes made for the slaves of Royals. The man looked down lovingly at the woman in his arms and nodded.

"You act if I am going to battle, Iris. Tonight is the Prince's birthday. Rejoice, pretty one. I can't resist you when you smile," he laughed when Iris broke out into a small grin. Bringing her closer to whisper something in her ear, Katim laughed even harder when this time Iris' face reddened like a ripe berry.

"You're not being very nice," Iris whined as she hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"I guess I'll have to make up for it later," he smirked before stealing a long steamy kiss from her. They finally pulled apart when another man called for Katim. The two men started down the hill, leaving Iris watching her husband from the doorway.

"That's my father," Mina exclaimed softly even as the other two girls gawked at what they had just seen.

"Do you think they can see us?" Raye asked.

"I hope not, but I think we should follow your father. I think Abba and your mother wanted us to see the whole thing because apparently the night hasn't even started yet," Lita suggested even as she moved past an oblivious Iris. Mina and Raye shrugged and followed her, curiosity getting the better of them.

They followed Katim and the other man, who they soon realized to be Amy's father, Akham all the way to the palace. It was obvious by now that they were invisible to the people around them, moving almost like ghosts as objects passed through their bodies as they walked.

The palace itself was bustling with movement. Food was prepared and served, and performers hustled and bustled across the cramped halls. Katim and Akham met up two other men, Raye and Lita's fathers, before going through a few more corridors before Katim separated from them with a cheerful laugh. The girls continued behind Katim, watching him even activating a few hidden corridors next to the library. This adventure was getting to be a little bit surreal even for them, and they couldn't help but to mutter in awe at the sliding marble walls of the hidden corridor. A few stairs and another door later, Katim unknowingly led them to the Pharaoh's private chamber.

Too call it opulent would be understating the magnificence of the room.

"Damn, wouldn't I like to Pharaoh for a day…" Lita murmured as her eyes smoothed over the exotic silks and tapestries.

"Too bad we can't feel anything," Raye sighed as she unsuccessfully tried to touch the bedspread.

"You guys are missing out on the point. We're standing in front of Pharaoh Tekum III and the Prince of Egypt," Mina hissed as she pointed the two to the scene unfolding before them.

Katim held the Prince high over his head, letting the blue-eyed three year old pretend he was flying like a bird.

"Happy birthday, my Prince," Katim laughed as the toddler perched on his wide shoulder and looked upside down at him.

"Katim, are you going to stay for my party?" The Prince asked seriously.

Frowning as he dressed himself in his Pharaoh outfit, Tekum scolded his son.

"What've I told you about bothering Katim, Endymion? He's great just to play with you so much. You know, Endy, soon he will have children of his own to play with you. Perhaps you and the other boys will be easier on them then on poor Katim."

"Sire, you would give me the honor? When I and my wife are slaves?" Katim said gravely even as Endymion patted his cheek gently in childish remorse.

"Katim, you have served me well. I trust you like a brother, and I know you would protect my child and nephews as you would your own. That is enough for me," Tekum replied.

The moment was broken when a beautiful woman entered the chamber.

"Anack, are we late?" Tekum asked even as Katim released Endymion and bowed before the woman.

"Not at all, I was coming to give birthday boy a few kisses," Anack said even as she greeted Katim.

"Mama, where are the other boys?" Endymion asked.

"They were with your uncle Salik. Speaking of whom, Tekum, Salik said for you to see him. He had news on the increasing slave uprisings," Anack said even as she saw Katim tense up.

"Sire, there have been nothing of the sort. Whoever has been rebelling has tried to pin it on the slaves…" Katim began before Tekum cut him off.

"Not tonight. I trust your words, my friend, but matters such as this would put a damper on my son's special night."

The three adults began moving towards the door as Endymion impatiently led them. Three invisible women followed behind.

"This is too bizarre! Your father knew the Pharaoh!" Raye exclaimed as Lita murmured in agreement.

"I don't understand either. He seems to be living a perfect life… why isn't he here anymore? And was the Pharaoh murdered?" Mina asked as she kept a close tail on the man who had been her father.

"Abba! Mina, the Pharaoh! That's it!" Lita gasped as horror lit in her eyes.

"What?" Raye and Mina asked.

"The Pharaoh was murdered tonight twenty years ago. That's why the Prince's birth night was so important today. We are about to see the Pharaoh murdered!"

"Who would murder him? He seems like a great ruler, and he treated my father with such respect," Mina said.

"I don't know. Nothing makes sense… I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Abba has planned for us," Raye mumbled as they entered the great hall they each served in not more than 4 hours ago.

A great roar echoed in the room as Egyptians and slaves rose at the sight of their Pharaoh and Prince. The celebration was just beginning.

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"What do you want?" Endymion snarled at a cowering guard.

"Sire, forgive me, but the holy priests demanded it…" Moving aside, Endymion blazing eyes rested on well over fifty high priests and priestesses who bowed reverently and fearfully before him.

"Arise, and tell me why you disrupted the ceremony," he snapped impatiently to the Guardian.

"Sire, the gods were displeased with your choice of a prize. They have sent the signal with a woman, a follower of your prize," the Guardian replied gently as to pacify the Prince's fury.

"Why are the gods displeased? She is… just a slave," he said even as he swallowed the word that almost fell off his tongue, 'perfect.'

"Sire, the signal bearer should explain this to you," the Guardian said as he pulled another slave woman before Endymion.

'Trying to save your own ass, huh?' Endymion thought ruefully even as he stared down the petite woman with a knapsack on her back.

"Speak slave, or it shall not fare well for you," Endymion commanded, ready to retreat to his chamber regardless of the consequences.

"Prince, the woman you have chosen is not a mere slave. She is one of our priestesses, and the gods value her chastity and purity," the woman answered quietly but clearly.

Endymion's eyebrow rose as he almost snickered.

"Slave, the woman in my arms not more than five minutes ago possessed a fire forbidden in any temple, slave or not," he smirked as the woman reddened. He suddenly wondered if the woman on his bed could hear him… if she was blushing or quivering with anger, although either reaction only made him burn more for her.

"Sire, have you completed the ritual?" The Guardian asked fearfully as his eyes darted to the knapsack.

"No, but I'm not letting the woman go until I do. How do you know this slave isn't a fake?" He demanded pointing to Amy.

"I can prove it. I can prove her divine nature," the woman whispered. Amy's heart was thudding. She had faith in Abba, but if she had misread Abba's intent in this whole affair, she'd be as good as dead. But if she was correct and managed to get her and Selene out of this, everything would be worth the risk.

Endymion stared at the girl. She was pretty and demure and seemed honest enough, but he could read people, and this girl was bluffing. He had to give it to the girl for being brave… who knows, she was probably some palace slave pitying the girl within his chamber. Deciding to call her out on her bluff, he nodded to the guards.

"You have five minutes to convince me that she is what you claim. When it is over, and I am not convinced, I will claim her as mine to do whatever I please. The priests will be punished for interrupting my ritual, and then they will release their anger upon you. Your time starts now," Endymion said.

"Let me into the chamber, sire. I have brought her priestess garbs."

The woman disappeared within the chamber, leaving Endymion to smirk in her wake.

---------------------------------------------------

Lita, Raye, and Mina watched the Prince celebrate his third birthday. Unlike the night's previous entertainment featuring lots of scantily clad women and wine, there were more toddler-oriented activities in the past. Clowns performed tricks and nobles presented the Prince with gifts like prize colts. As the celebration drew on, the three girls grew restless. The whole experience seemed to happen in real time yet they were all worried about Amy and Selene's whereabouts. They stood in grim worry with their eyes trained on the Pharaoh and Katim, waiting for the real show to begin.

Finally a courier whispered in the Pharaoh's ear, causing Tekum to rise from his seat. Almost at the same time, the young Prince spilled a long goblet of guava mash down the front of his attire. Quickly coming to the rescue, Katim picked the sticky prince up and took him out of the room. The girls looked at each other, debating on whom to follow before going after Katim and the Prince. They went into a private wash chamber where Katim was scrubbing down the scowling Prince.

"Aw, he's cute," Mina said, watching the young Prince splash Katim when he wasn't looking.

"I saw him today at the banquet. He didn't look like he was enjoying the show. If I wasn't mistaken, it seemed like he couldn't wait for it to end," Raye said.

"Then maybe he's not such a bastard after all," Lita retorted even though she couldn't help but to be besotted with the boy as well.

When Katim finished cleaning up the child, they returned to the hallway. They were almost to the door of the feast when a loud scream echoed down the hallway. Looking up cautiously, Katim's eyes traveled down the hall in the direction of the noise even as he pushed the Prince behind his body, making himself a human shield for the toddler. The girls looked at each other puzzled and afraid. What was going on?

In a flash of movement, Katim pulled the Prince into his arms and returned to the great hall. Depositing the protesting boy into Anack's arms, he ran back to the hall now checking every room only to find them all empty. The three girls ran along behind him hoping that he would keep safe.

Finally, Katim opened a hidden passage in the hallway by pressing a torch on the wall with shaking hands. It revealed the royal study. The room was completely dark, and Katim quickly lit a torch. The gasp of shock and anguish alerted the girls to his position. Pharaoh Tekum III was lying upon the floor with a pool of blood soaking his royal tunic. The gnarled butt of a rudimentary fishing knife stuck out from his heart. Katim put the torch down before rushing to his body, apathetic to the blood staining his robes and skin. His hands went to the Pharaoh's throat and to his heart. He was too late…

The girls watched Katim's screams of anguish fill the room. Tears of pain and fury streaked his cheeks as his hand closed around the knife, extracting it from the Pharaoh's heart only to have more blood flowing from the wound.

Mina rushed to her father's side, only to remember that he could not feel her. Raye was in a corner, gagging at the sight while Lita was screaming at Katim to stop touching the corpse. Katim cried loudly as he held Tekum's hand. He loved the man like a brother…

The door burst open as guards rushed in followed by Salik, Anack, and Endymion. The horror etched on their faces only caused Lita to scream even more at Katim.

"You crazy bastard, they're going to think that you did it! Drop the damn knife! Explain yourself! Get over it your grief! For the love of Abba, they're going to kill you!" Lita shouted futilely even as she watched the guards rip Tekum from Katim's grip. The blood-soaked knife was still clenched in Katim's fist despite Mina's attempts to free her father's fingers from its tight grip.

Endymion cried loudly even as Anack tried to shield her son's eyes from the scene. The child's cries seemed to wake Katim from his reverie as he tried to run to the Prince in consolation. The quick strike of a guard's club on his head made Katim collapse to the ground. The girls each felt the blow within their skulls. Suddenly they were experiencing the world through Katim's eyes, and the last thing they saw before blacking out was the inexplicable fear and hurt in the young Prince's stormy blue eyes. Blackness overtook them, and when their eyes open again, Iris was sitting among them in the slave hut.

--------------------------------------------------

Amy shut the door behind her, praying that Selene was still well.

"Amy?" A small voice from the bed peeped.

"Abba, Selene! Are you well?"

"Amy! It is you! What are you doing here?" Selene cried jumping up to hug her friend.

"I'm here to save you. We don't have much time. Quick, put this on," Amy commanded as she handed Selene her knapsack.

"What? How did you find out that I was here?"

Selene gasped when she pulled the garment out of the shoddy bag. It was glowing and cool to the touch. Not only that, it seemed to illuminate the moonlit room, almost as if it was sucking in moonlight from the sky.

"Long story short, you are part of the Prince's royal ritual. We can get out of this by convincing them that you are a priestess of Abba for the slaves and that your chastity will please the gods. They think that dress is a signal from the false Egyptian gods, and they are willing to suppress their Prince if you are a true priestess."

Even as Selene shrugged out of the robe she was wearing and pulled on the gown, she scowled.

"I know nothing of being a priestess, Amy. We don't even have priestesses!"

"I lied, and Abba shall do with me as he sees fit, but I couldn't let the Prince ruin your reputation… did he hurt you?" Amy looked away, afraid of the answer.

"No, Amy. He didn't… I don't think he would've as crazy as that sounds."

Only when the robe was on Selene did Amy finally see the magic of it. It radiated silver as moonlight drew itself into the dress.

"What now, Ames? Do I show them the dress?" Selene whispered huskily. The robe was having the most peculiar affect on her. It felt refreshing and clean, as if she was breathing in the air in the sky…

"I've got it. You are the priestess of moon. Abba's priestess of the moon…"

"Isn't that blasphemy?"

"No, Selene. No one else could've given you this dress. You are a true child of Abba. You and Mina… it all makes some sense now. Those eyes of yours, your hair! These are our assets…"

A sharp knock at the door cut Amy off. Then without further preamble, Endymion stormed into the room, his eyes instantly seeking Selene's.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Out," he demanded to Amy without taking his eyes off of Selene.

"Sire… you cannot…" Amy protested even as Selene looked serenely on at the scene enfolding in front of her.

"I shall not ruin her… I will return your slave priestess to you as soon as I get a word with the lady. Wait outside before I have you escorted," Endymion said impatiently as the guards behind him stirred out of their stupors.

Amy gave one last look at Selene before bowing before her.

"Priestess, I await outside the chamber…"

When Endymion was finally alone with the woman, he reached her side in four long, purposeful strides.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked as he watched the flickering silver and blue in her eyes.

"Why didn't you ask?" She retorted by raising one slim eyebrow.

By the gods, if he thought she was beautiful before, he was certainly having a hell of a time keeping his hands to himself now. The woman was glowing, for Isis' sakes!

"Who are you?" He tried again.

"I am Abba's priestess of the moon. You may never have me now," she smirked serenely as she saw the tick in his jaw quiver.

"You think your slave god can detain me from my pleasure? Better yet, do you honestly think you can resist my touch?" He said huskily as he trailed a finger down her cheek.

"You know, for a second there, I thought you weren't a big asshole. I guess I make mistakes too," she replied coolly, brushing off his caress.

Endymion stiffened. The slave just called him an asshole! Well, maybe if he took it in context to the hard-delivered slap earlier… He broke his gaze from her face, and paced to the bed, facing away from her.

"Did you enjoy my kisses, my touch for even a second?" He asked quietly.

"What does it matter?" She shrugged her eyes glued to the door, unsure if she could walk out without getting killed yet.

"Answer me truthfully, and you'll never have to see me again," he ground out.

"Then no, not even for a second," she replied coldly. Her senses had long since returned to her. What she was feeling earlier was beyond foolish, it was treasonous. Not for any man would she devote her heart and soul to, ever.

"Thank you for your frank response, slave… you may leave," Endymion snapped. Her tentative steps soon sounded across the floor and the swishing sound of her robe alerted him to her movement. For a second it sounded like she was moving towards him, but the feeling was gone as quickly as it came. With the click of the doors, she was gone.

Her answer burned Endymion like an inextinguishable fire. 'No matter, she is gone. I'll never have to see her again…' Even through his bruised pride, he knew that never seeing her again was nowhere near comfort.

A few minutes later, the Guardian entered the chamber. Endymion had half a mind to kill him for bringing reality to him, to his woman…despite her cold words, he had been sure she would've succumbed to him voluntarily if those damned guards didn't start pounding on the doors.

"Sire, is there a woman you desire for the completion of the ritual?" The Guardian asked.

"None… you may choose for me. Make it quick, midnight draws ever nearer."

"May I suggest my niece; she is a genuine treasure. I'll send for her, Prince. Beryl has yet to leave any man unsatisfied with her mere beauty. You shall claim her…"

"Leave me!" Endymion suddenly roared as the priest scurried out the room, leaving Endymion alone with his thoughts.

It seemed like eons later when soft steps reentered his room. Endymion's back was propped against the headboard. A goblet of wine swished in his hands as a drunken stupor hit him.

"My Prince," a woman whispered as she bowed low before him.

Without another word, Endymion pulled her to him and proceeded to consummate his position as the future Pharaoh of Egypt. With eyes shut tight and lips pulled into a fine line, he could see her in his mind. A single lingering image of her silvery smirk teased him until at the moment of his release when a single word ripped out of his throat: _mine_.

------------------------------------------------------

"Mama, what was the meaning of the vision?" Mina asked fearfully, still shaken from the revelations of the night.

"We heard rumors, but everyone was too superstitious to talk of it in detail…" Raye added even as she pressed a hand to her mouth. The sickening image of Tekum's murder still hung heavily on her mind.

"I told you that Abba would reveal your destinies tonight. Do you understand what you must do?" Iris asked instead.

"Avenge Katim?" Lita answered softly.

"Not just my Katim… you must avenge Tekum as well. Girls, you all are catalysts for the dawning of a new era. We are in a time of changes. Egypt must be reunited… the slaves must be liberated."

"But how? We are slaves ourselves…"

"But tonight has changed that. You are no longer yourselves. Have you not met someone who you felt a kinship with? No, my darlings, you have seen your destinies already. Now you must figure out how to fulfill Abba's will…"

Each of the girls' gasped at the thought of the men they met. Were they part of their destinies?

"What about Amy and Selene? Will they not see what we have seen?" Mina asked.

"Abba will use them differently, my daughter. But even as we speak, they are on their way back to us. Sleep now, dears. Tomorrow is a brand new day, and in times of tribulation, we must have our faith," Iris replied before blowing out the candles in the room.

Raye and Lita quietly left the hut together for home, leaving Mina and Iris alone.

"Do you miss him very much?" Mina asked in the darkness.

"Yes, darling, I have always loved your father. I am thankful that Abba allowed you to see him…"

But Mina had already drifted asleep. The events of the night had worn her out, and as Iris looked upon her daughter, she smiled softly to herself before joining her in slumber.

----------------------------------------------

That was how Selene found them when she finally arrived home. Too exhausted and confused to wake them up, she undressed and got on her cot. For some reason, she couldn't get in a comfortable position on her lumpy bed. Compared to the Prince's bed, it was not fit for animals.

'Exactly, they think slaves are sub-par to animals…He thinks I am less than an animal,' she told herself.

She was furious at him. While she was stuck thinking about him, he was no doubt enjoying the company of another woman as he fulfilled tradition.

'Fool! How dare you be jealous? Did you wish to remain with him even after all the danger Amy put herself through? And then pulling that stunt in his room! You walked towards him, you idiot! What if he had turned around to see you coming toward him? Thank Abba he didn't. No, you don't ever need to think about him again… it's not like you'll ever see him or anything; he made that clear enough. Who cares if you probably bruised his ego? It was self-preservation, my friend. Who cares that the Prince of Egypt hates your guts?'

Tears fell from her eyes. Her previous lust-filled prediction had been correct: a part of her never left his chamber tonight. He had it bleeding in his beautiful and strong hands. How did she lose it in such a short amount of time when no man has ever even come close to seeing its existence? How did she manage to find the worst man alive and thrust her one of her most valuable organs into his wicked hands?

'It doesn't matter. He may have my heart, but I still have my brain. Only a fool would lose her mind over a man, and I am nobody's fool,' she told herself as she shut her eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.


	6. Prophecy

**S o I'm back with another chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy it. It's really weird how long it takes to write, but I don't want to put out crap for you to read. So after you peruse this new chapter, would you mind dropping a line and leaving some feedback? I can't promise to do what you say, but the fact that you cared enough to say something will motivate me to update this story more often. **

"Endymion, wakie wakie!" Jaden cooed as he snickered at the sight Endymion made. He was almost falling off the bed in his position to avoid bodily contact with the woman beside him. Spilled wine dotted the floor and a goblet was on its side next to Endymion's head.

"Leave him alone, Jaden. He's had a rough night," Natum warned when he saw studied the woman.

"I thought the prize was a slave… this is an Egyptian. As a matter of fact, she looks familiar," Jaden said out loud and accidentally waking up the woman in question.

She yawned and stretched, not bothering to cover her nakedness. Blinking, she looked at the two new men coyly.

"Good day," she said as she sidled up to Endymion's sleeping form. Without another thought of her audience, she ran a hand down his muscular torso until it disappeared into the sheets.

Groaning in annoyance and lazy desire, Endymion's eyes slowly opened.

"Can't believe we didn't think of that to wake his royal highness up," Jaden smirked as he cocked his head at the drowsy prince.

Endymion was about to retort with a curse until his eyes focused on the source of the wandering hand. Eyes narrowed, his large hand clamped around the woman's wrist and threw her arm away from him.

"What are you still doing here?" He groaned as he tossed a glance over his shoulder at the bewildered woman. She was pleasing to the eyes, but in grace and beauty, she came nowhere near his moon priestess.

'Wait, since when was the slave my moon priestess?' he thought angrily as he shook his pounding head.

"I…I don't understand," the woman sputtered.

Natum gave Jaden a puzzled glance before looking pointedly at the door.

"I think we'll just go now. Whenever you're through, we'll be in Kenlum's suite…" Jaden drawled before exiting the chamber with Natum following on his heel.

Groaning again at the pounding pain in his head, Endymion pressed a hand to his forehead. What was he drinking last night? He remembered finishing the ritual with the woman beside him… Beryl was her name… and then prying her from his body. He had demanded her to leave his room, so why was she still here?

"Here, sire, let me," she said as she tried to place a massaging hand on his forehead.

Shrinking away from her touch instinctively, he jumped off the bed.

"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you for coming to my bed on such a short notice, but you really have to leave now. Your family will be greatly honored and compensated for your loyalty," Endymion said woodenly as he watched her face fall.

"Yet what of me, Prince? Am I merely a vessel for the gods to grant you power for the Pharaohship? Am I doomed to be unwed for the rest of my life because of my devotion to you? No man would take me after I was one of the Prince's women," Beryl said with her face averted.

"If you are unable to find a suitor because of last night, I shall provide for you a place in my harem. Until then, I wish you the best. You are young and beautiful, and you shall have many vying for your hand," he replied carelessly as he prayed silently for her to leave his sight. Seeing her only reminded him of how it could've been different. How he could still be holding the moonlit beauty in his arms…slowly awaking her with a possessive caress only to fight for dominance in another passionate tryst.

Groaning at himself in frustration, Endymion put on a robe and headed for the door, determined to wash off any remnants of the night even as Beryl's pleas continued.

"Please don't send me away, highness. I'll do anything to be by your side… I'll serve you more than any other woman, I vow it!" Beryl begged.

"Make it easier on the both of us, Beryl. I will always appreciate you for what you did last night, so let us part on good terms," Endymion sighed exasperated.

"But last night, you said I was yours! Surely you must feel for me to call me as yours during the heat of passion!" Beryl screeched finally seeing that the prince wasn't budging.

He froze in the doorway. The memory returned to him…hurting him more now that he was sober. 'What was I thinking? Losing my control like that? You've had way too much to drink, my man…'

"No, Beryl. That was not meant for your ears. Good day," he replied curtly as he exited the room.

Endymion was in such a hurry to leave that he didn't catch the determined look on Beryl's face.

"Not yet, Prince, but it soon shall be… soon everything you wish to mention will pass through my ears first," she vowed before slowing donning a robe. 'At least he thinks I'm beautiful… it's a start. But if he hadn't meant for me to hear those words, who were they meant for?'

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"Wake up!" Mina urged as she shook Selene from her slumber.

"Just five more minutes, Min…" Selene groaned as she tried to turn away from her sister.

"No! Wake up, Selene!" Mina hissed.

Finally groaning in exasperation, Selene opened her eyes. At the sight of her annoyed and worried sister, her heart softened as last night's memories returned and she enveloped Mina in a close hug. Now somewhat awake, she remembered how for a few moments last night, she had feared she would never see her family and friends again.

"Oh Min… I was so afraid…Thank Abba for Amy for getting me out of there before…" Selene stopped speaking as the memory of his broad back facing her flashed across her mind. She felt a pang of guilt and … regret? 'I have nothing to apologize for,' she reminded herself sternly before Mina interrupted her thoughts.

"Before what? Amy came by early this morning and gave mama and me a brief synopsis about what happened. Did he try to hurt you?" Mina asked worriedly as she watched the emotions flash within Selene's eyes.

"No, he didn't Mina. I'm just glad I got out of there before anything else happened. So where's mama?" She asked changing the subject. She pushed the covers aside and changed out of her sleeping robe into a clean linen cloak.

"She went out to the well, and she told me to keep you here until she gets back. Selene, some things happened last night… and I can't explain it to you without you thinking I was crazy. I saw papa."

"Papa? How?" Selene asked as she stopped fiddling with her sandals.

"I don't even know myself. I just know that something big is going to happen."

Before Selene could question Mina further, shuffling from the ante-room alerted them to Iris' presence. When she entered the sleeping chamber, she had two bundles in her hands.

"Mama!" Selene cried out in joy and relief. Somehow the sight of her stoic yet strong mother always soothed her nerves. But then she noticed the bundles in Iris' hands.

"My robe!" Selene exclaimed as she recognized the silver dress she wore last night in Iris' right hand.

Mina only looked intently at the gold robe in Iris' other hand as the bundle sparkled and shined.

"Girls, these are Abba's gifts to you…" Iris said without preamble as she handed them the respective robes.

"They're beautiful, but what are they for?" Mina asked as she ran her fingers over the warm golden silk and jewels.

"These are symbols of your destinies, my loves. You and the other girls were not born for the life of a slave. Last night, Selene, you met the prince… and Mina, you also met another one of the most powerful men in Egypt. The others have as well, and their parents will give them similar attire. We've waited twenty years for this, and Abba couldn't have blessed us with better."

"Better what?" Selene asked confused and a bit rattled that her mother spoke of the Prince with such ease even after conceding that their meeting was not under normal circumstances.

"Keys… you girls and your soul mates are the keys to our deliverance," Iris whispered.

"What soul mates? You got to be kidding me! He couldn't be my soul mate!" Selene exclaimed. She turned to Mina for some support only to find her sister staring at her robe deep in thought.

"Min? Do you believe this?" Selene asked hurriedly as Mina continued stroking the robe in contemplation. Iris merely stood aside, hands empty and shoulders squared.

"I don't know what to believe, Selene, but I know that Abba was trying to tell us something last night. He showed me, Lita, and Raye the past, Selene… we were there!" Mina said more to herself than to Selene.

"Mama, please explain to me what is going on!" Selene whispered as Iris began stroking her hair.

"You cannot escape your destiny, love. Tell me, do you feel for the Prince?"

"Feel for him? He could've … I don't even know him! I don't ever want to see him again… I hate what he put us through. I hate the things he will put us through when he becomes Pharaoh. I hate him!" Selene spat disgustedly as her fists clenched in anger. She was lying to herself, and she knew it.

Apparently Iris noticed too.

"Selene, do not be stubborn about this. You feel for him already, and it was meant to be. He is not like the Pharaoh… in all ways, he takes after his father, the rightful holder to the throne," Iris muttered darkly.

"Mama's right, Selene. The Prince mourned as a child for his father's death just as I'm beginning to mourn for my own," Mina added suddenly.

"I don't understand. Why are you taking his side? And what is this destiny crap all about? I wasn't rescued from the palace, from him, just to run back to him to babble about being his soul mate! Abba's sakes, we're not special! There's no destiny for us, and if there is, I don't want it!" Selene yelled as she got up from the cot. The Prince's image was in her mind constantly now. The blue of his eyes, the coal darkness of his hair, and the firm set of his jaw taunted her. However, what bothered her most was the brief second of raw emotion he revealed to her before kissing her the last time… she couldn't get it out of her head.

"Selene…" Mina called as Selene walked to the door.

"I have to clear my head. Just give me a moment," Selene said as she backed out the room. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave her home after last night's events, but the things her mother told them this morning baffled her. 'It couldn't be true. He's evil. Forget about him, girl. Nothing happened last night, thank Abba…' she thought as she ran down the path away from her hut.

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Endymion strode into Kenlum's suite wearing a sour expression. Last night had been a debacle in every sense of the word. Aside from the fact he had been unable to possess the slave woman as he intended, he was also shocked to the core at his reaction of the slave.

'Slave she may be, but damn if that wasn't the most beautiful woman I've ever seen,' he thought traitorously before regaining control of his mind.

"Well, look who decided to join us. Good afternoon, sleeping beauty," Kenlum mock-bowed in jest.

Endymion decided to leave out the fact that he had spent most of the morning vigorously scrubbing his body to get rid of any traces of Beryl.

"Ha-ha, thank the gods you haven't lost that glorious sense of humor of yours. Don't tell me… you had the fuck of your life last night and you can't wait to rub it in my face," he retorted as he rolled his eyes.

"Not exactly, your gloriousness, but I daresay my night was far from wasted," Kenlum replied cheekily even as his groin tightened at the memory of the golden one.

"Enough about him. What about you night, End? I thought I recognized your bedmate this morning… Beryl daughter of Inazak the noble, but didn't you say the prize was a slave?" Jaden asked.

Endmyion fists clenched reflexively at the mention of the slave. The sudden realization that he didn't even know her name struck him oddly, and he felt a stab of regret. 'Why hadn't I asked her?'

"End? Endymion? Hello?" Jaden snapped his fingers.

"The slave turned out to be a slave priestess bound to chastity," Zachariah said quietly from the corner.

Gasps sounded within the room.

"Bu the prize would the of the Prince's choice! We said so ourselves, if he wanted the Pharaoh's own, he could've had her," Natum argued.

"Well the slave who spoke on the prize's behalf was very… persuasive," Zachariah replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. The impish slave Amy hadn't left his mind since they parted on the grand stairs. The quiet intelligence in her eyes was like a pool of crystal water reflecting his soul back to him. But she had been lying last night, and Zachariah had spent the better half of the night trying to figure out why. But what he found…

"Is it true, Endymion? Boy, you sure know how to pick them…" Jaden chuckled even as he ducked an angry swing from Endymion.

"Well, Jaden, what of you and the slave who has willingly refused you for the past week? I daresay someone snuck back into his chambers early last night with no one but himself," Natum cajoled.

As Endymion took a seat and listened to the others rile on Jaden with only half-an-ear, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"There's something you ought to know," Zach said as Endymion raised an eyebrow.

"Your prize was no priestess. The slaves do not employ priestesses for worship."

Immediately Endymion's back stiffened as he veered to face Zachariah. He felt surprisingly no anger at the slave's deception. Instead, a small string of hope began to tug at Endymion's heart.

"But she…"

"I know, the other slave, Amy, daughter of Akham, fooled the priests," Zachariah said as a surge of pride swelled within him. The woman was not only beautiful and pure; she had the heart of a noble and the courage of a phoenix.

"So she lied to me…" Endymion said mainly to himself.

Zachariah's eyes widened at the warmness within Endymion's voice. He had expected him to take the news rather well since he didn't miss the longing in Endymion's eyes when he spoke of the slave, but this…reaction was almost incomprehensible. He listened to Endymion continue talking to himself.

"But the robe she wore… it was glowing with the brilliance of a million stars. How could she just be a normal slave? No, she is far from normal. She is a goddess… mine."

"You can't be suggesting that she's an actual goddess, Endymion! I agree though that there is more than what meets the eye here. You see, I hadn't told you everything yet."

"What else?" Endymion asked as his curiosity piqued. Less than an hour ago he was still resigned to never seeing her again, but these revelations provided him with an opportunity to seek her out. She wouldn't dare refuse him… lying to him could be construed as high treason, not that he would actually charge her. No, he would find her and demand her reasons for deceiving him… and even if she said nothing more than insults, he would still be able to look upon her and remember the one moment she gave him when she willingly kissed him.

"I know of the robe you spoke of because I saw it myself in the temple. The robe was used as the signal of the gods, and it was because of its brilliance that she was released from the ceremony. But the robe… there is a prophecy, Endymion. No one knows about it, and it's been around for twenty years now…and it is prophecy from the slaves."

"A prophecy? What of it?" Endymion asked softly. The others were still engrossed in their ruses, completely oblivious to the two whispering quietly in the corner.

"I knew last night that the slave Amy was lying to me, but I didn't know why so I decided to do more research before telling you. She said she was the daughter of Akham, and that rang a bell to me. Akham was one of your father's close aides. Before his assassination, he employed many slaves to his personal service."

"Yes, I know, I was there…he was betrayed by one of these personal aides," Endymion snapped impatiently as a thread of foreboding gnawed at him.

"Yes, after the slave Katim was executed, the other aides were banned from working closely with the royals," Zachariah continued even as he noticed Endymion flinch at the mention of the traitor's name. "I remembered Akhams's name from the scroll containing details of your father's assassination, so I decided to look up his records in the library, hoping to find out more about him and his daughter. I wanted to figure out why Amy was risking her life to prevent you from claiming your prize when she obviously understood the ritual involved and why it was so important."

Flashback to the previous night

Candlelight flickered and dimmed as the candle steadily melted into a pool of liquid wax as the night wore on. Still Zachariah sat among the dusty scrolls of old palace records. Finally a few hieroglyphics attracted his attention, signaling to him that he had finally found the information he was seeking.

The papyrus and its contents were a few days shy of twenty years old, and although occasional additions were made to the records, the scroll remained fairly unused and new. It was a papyrus devoted to Akham, former aide to the Pharaoh before his murder.

Hungrily he scanned the document, searching for any piece of information to lead to an explanation for his daughter's peculiar actions. But as his eyes skimmed down the page, he became more and more desperate.

The information contained in the scroll was completely mundane! There was no indication of a conspiracy or problem. Everything was straightforward and absolutely boring… Zachariah ran his hand through his hair in disgust only to accidentally knock over the candleholder. Cursing under his breath, he righted the object and scratched absently at the spilt wax on the scroll.

Within an instant, a layer of papyrus peeled off with the drying wax revealing another parchment underneath filled with curvaceous hieroglyphics. Zachariah nearly salivated as his eyes caressed over the lettering revealed. Hastily yet carefully he peeled off the rest of the dummy document to reveal the underlying parchment completely.

His eyes widened as he read and reread the contents of the parchment.

'Amy, daughter of Akham, had you meant for me to find this? What does this mean?' For once the scholarly prince was confounded. This was the greatest puzzle that he has ever encountered, and he couldn't wait to discover the answer to the riddles it posed. Another comforting thought suddenly entered his mind.

'Amy, you seem to be even more interesting than I thought, and I'm more determined than ever to figure out all the riddles hiding behind your obsidian eyes.'

End Flashback

"What did the parchment say?" Endymion asked impatiently.

"I think you should read it for yourself," Zach replied as he handed Endymion a roll of scroll.

Without another word, Endymion strode toward the door, anxious to see for himself what his dear cousin had stumbled upon. There were too many questions in his head, and he had hoped that this document was going to answer some of them. Behind him, he heard calls from his other cousins for his return.

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Selene watched the Nile rush by, the gurgling water calming to her racing heart. Sheltered in a new sanctuary she discovered during her wild sprint, she reclined against a mossy rock with her long legs stretched before her. A loud rumbling and rushing sound nearby indicated that she was near to a waterfall of some sort, but she was too tired and too distraught to explore.

'How had everything changed in such a short period of time?'

Everything had been so simple not even a day ago! Since she rushed from home, every detail from her kidnapping to her mother's words replayed in her mind. She had felt horrible for running out like that, but she was afraid that at any movement she would find herself suddenly agreeing with her mother about the Prince of Egypt.

'I'd probably agree to anything as long as I could see him again,' her heart sighed.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and let the melody of the Nile wash over her in its soothing rhythm. Eventually she felt peace within herself as a cooling sensation ran from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Somewhere in a dream she heard a musical voice speak to her.

It said, "Keep the faith, dear child. I shall never leave you nor forsake you. Soon Selene, you will find your way and with it, your love. Keep the faith…"

When she awoke, she found herself bathed in moonlight. She felt refreshed and soothed by the pale glow, almost as if the rays of light were gently massaging her. Instinctively she knew Mina and mama wouldn't worry about her whereabouts. She was safe.

With lighter steps, she began her trek back to her hut smiling because she knew that Abba had spoken to her.

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Endymion sat in front of the roaring fire. He clutched a goblet of wine in his left hand and the parchment Zachariah gave him in the right hand. He had barred everyone from entering the chamber as he read over the scroll over and over again until its contents were engrained in his memory.

The fire sent shadows spiraling across the room as he closed his eyes in fatigue and awe. 'What does it mean?' he wondered before rereading it again for good measure.

"Born of heat and born of cold,

Twice the pain and twice the strife

Twenty years 'til sky and sea shall merge

Ten shall into five converge

Through they shall Abba restore life

As pure blood be paid by a lover's hold

Only then will revenge unfold"

The fire crackled and popped. For a moment, the outline of a graceful woman walked among the flames, causing Endymion to sit straighter in his chair. Shaking his head, he looked outside into the night sky at the waxing moon, wondering what destiny had in store for him.

Secretly he hoped that the slave woman's destiny would be irreversibly entwined with his.

'One can dream…' He smirked before berating himself for being a foolish boy and turning back to stare at the fire.


	7. Heat

**Yet another chapter! I hope the response to this story is still positive. **

**In response to the whole "abba" v. "alla" point one sharp reviewer brought to my attention, I thought I was going for the word ancient Jews used for God (you know the whole Abba Father thing?). If this doesn't convince you, send me another message, and I'll change it. **

**Another concern brought to my attention is the whole cursing consistency thing. I thought that people have been cursing for a long time but mostly about the same things… I wasn't quite sure how to translate some of them and I'm not creative enough to come up with new ones so please bear with me here. **

**Thanks for reading and keep that feedback coming!**

**Liz**

The heat was stifling. Apparently summer seemed to want to go out with bang, and Selene wouldn't be surprised if it didn't decide to take everyone out with it. The sun's rays cut into bare backs both slave and Egyptian alike, and no one were without grumbles. And then there were the fevers… horrifying heat-induced madness that had swept across the land not mere days before. Everywhere people began to drop to the ground in a deep sleep until they would awake into constant delirium hours later. The palace was buzzing with the strain on slave labor as many were too sick to work. Tongues wagged and rumors were that Abba was punishing the land for its wickedness by unleashing a plague upon it. Others dismissed the tales and viewed the sickness as simple dehydration and under-nutrition. Although the past few days the sickness had subsided and people were beginning to recover, Raye had told the girls that the royals had been worked half to death trying to save the kingdom, to which Lita had snort in derision. As much as the royals were about pomp and circumstance, even they had to address the issue with solemnity.

Although the girls were spared from the sickness and their immediate families, they felt the strain as well as they tended to neighbors and other slaves. Amy, forever the more medically talented one, had taken much of the work upon herself, and before the end of the first phase of the sickness, she had organized an efficient system to take care of patients. Unfortunately, as most of her patients were well on their way to recovery, Amy herself burned out in a heap of tiredness and energy drain.

Selene sighed sadly as she wiped Amy's forehead delicately with the damp rag.

'Oh Amy, you are too self-less,' she thought as she remembered the first words that came out of Amy's mouth ("Did someone go check on Muthara yet?") from she awoke after fainting at the homes of one of her patients.

So now that the young physician was bed-ridden coping with her own exhaustion, the girls had taken to caring for her personally by alternating their duties. Lita had been here yesterday, and Selene was here now. Tomorrow would be Raye's turn as someone would take her spot at the palace.

As her thoughts turned to the palace, or more precisely the residents within it, Selene sighed. Almost two months had passed since the encounter with the Prince, and the ensuing revelations of her "destiny."

'At least I'm not the only one,' she thought ruefully as she looked down as Amy's peacefully visage.

It hadn't been more than a few days until the other girls admitted what had happened to them that night to each other. Lita had been indignantly outraged at the possibility that she actually had a liking for the haughty man and swore to have only been thinking about him because of his irritating confidence. Raye was a little more receptive to her admirer although her lack of discussion on the issue led the girls to know there was more that she wasn't revealing. Mina was blunter about her encounter as she went into great detail about the kiss, much to the others' ire, but even she admitted that the man had a monopoly on her romantic thoughts be him worthy or not. And Amy, sweet Amy who had risked her life and her honor to rescue Selene, had spoken tenderly about her man. Out of the group of girls, she was one who was most trusting and happy with the man. ("Well he certainly helped me in the palace even after figuring out that I was a fake!" She defended when Lita voiced her skepticism).

'And that brings it back to me,' Selene thought. 'But what do I feel for the Prince? Certainly anger and distrust, but something had happened in that chamber. Something that I had never experienced before… something about his eyes…'

Amy mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like medical treatments in her sleep, and Selene soothed her friend with a cool hand and a low shushing until her slumber became peaceful again.

'Why do I even care what I feel for him? I told the girls that the man was infuriatingly cocksure of himself and that he was fiercely attractive. It was true, the man brought out sides of myself that I had never known to exist. But he's gone, and even if Abba truly had a plan that involved him, we could never overcome our differences…could we?'

She didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she would ever find out the answers to her hearts' questions. However, unlike she who patiently waited for Abba to unfold his plan, two lovers were already taking matters into their own hands.

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"The heat is making my head swim. Are you not roasting yet in your many layers?" the man asked playfully even as he moved to tug off one of the offending clothing.

"It doesn't really bother me. In fact, heat makes me feel more energetic…" the woman giggled but stopped when she realized her actions. Since when did she giggle?

"Stop frowning, you're going to make me think you're not happy to see me," he pouted.

She silenced his complaints with a sizzling kiss with which he happily complied.

They were canopied by an ancient sycamore tree by the Nile. For almost a month now, they had come here to escape the realities of life and to relish in each other's company. Who had made the first move in that palace chamber? Who had overcome their foolish pride before the other? Had it been too easy? What would happen should anyone find out? Were they betraying their loyalties by being together? These questions became obsolete when they were together in each other's embrace.

It began precisely three weeks after the Prince's birthday. She was replacing dirtied linens in the royal chambers with clean ones, a new responsibility bestowed upon her when the regular slave was out with the heat sickness, when he had entered the room after seeing her from the corridor. Their words were few but meaningful until he had invited her to accompany him. She had resisted at first insisting that she had to stay and work or else anger management and he had acquiesced, requesting her to meet him after her shift. She refused, and he withdrew.

This repeated for a week more although each time their conversations evolved as mutual sentiments began to develop within their hearts. Where at first there had been lust, there came to be tenderness, need, and respect. And finally after six days of asking for her company, he breathed his question with a single longing look. She capitulated, and he had taken her to the sycamore tree and held her in the sunset. Under the red sky he thought he was holding fire in his arms until she kissed him and he knew that he had been right. Her touches were flames that burned a hot trail into his soul. He knew at that moment that the woman in his arms could scar him for life with a single fiery flick of her hand, and in that instant he was lost within her fire.

Presently, he held her with her back pressed against his chest as he inhaled the spice of her hair. He hadn't said the words yet and as tough as he was, he knew he was born to whisper them into her ear for all eternity. But now wasn't the right time. With her body still experiencing the residual pleasures from his touch, he could do no more than to hold her to him like a man holding his greatest treasure. She had the capacity to burn anyone who displeased her but in his arms, she allowed herself to be comforted and tamed.

She sighed softly before turning her dark head to him, the look in her eyes sending blood into certain parts of his anatomy.

"The heat seems to give you energy as well," she teased lightly even as she shifted her body to receive him.

Laughing heartily, the man smiled at his love before dipping his head to take her ruby lips again.

"Raye…" he groaned against her lips as if her name explained everything. At that moment and every moment since that day in the chamber when she looked at him no longer with disgust and fear, Jaden knew that it truly did.

They moved again to the pinnacle of ecstasy as the day turned into night.

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The sun had barely poked its head over the horizon when she awoke.

The blonde tied her hair into the traditional bun before knotting a headscarf tightly to her head. The sun had barely risen but the residual heat from the past few weeks still clung desperate to her body as sweat accumulated on her smooth brow. Before she exited the chamber, she looked over to her still slumbering sister in a silent goodbye.

Silently she made her way toward the palace, intent on reaching the slave entrance without any hassle. With each wretched step she reminded herself to give Raye a little more credit in the future for doing this everyday. But the closer she got to the towering palace, the more anxious she became.

What if she saw him again? She wouldn't know what to do… probably run like hell. He had let her go last time… would this time be any different?

It wasn't until she walked straight into someone did she look up apologetically from her thoughts. The scowl on the Egyptian's face didn't help matters, and she felt the hairs on her neck stand up in warning.

"Slave, yer trespassing," the guard scowled in a feral manner.

"Pardon me. I hadn't thought to have strayed that far… I was taking a shortcut to the palace…" The woman who felt more like a girl at the moment explained as calmly as she could manage. The guard did not look displeased, and that was the most worrisome thing to her.

"What business has ye at the palace?" He asked as he gave her a toothless grin. She grimaced at his rank breath.

"I'm a palace slave, and I shall be late. Plus let me on," she replied angrily when he advanced even closer to her.

"Dare ye disrespect me slave?" He half-shouted as grabbed her arm with one hand, and began to drag her closer to the palace. Although she was afraid and angry, she thought he was taking her to the slave entrance to reprimand her in front of her peers. However, she soon found herself dragged into another more terrifying area of the palace. She began to scream.

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It was early but Endymion relished in the feeling. From his balcony, he could see the land waking up slowly underneath his gaze. In the far distance the sun began its ascent in the sky. The gods smiled down upon Egypt… or so it seemed.

The recent bout of heat sickness had been taxing to say the least, and although he along with his four cousins had been spared by the grace of the gods, many had fallen prey to the sickness.

'But had it been the gods?' He wondered to himself. Since his birth, he had often pondered upon the religious aspects of his future throne. He had never embraced the traditions of the many gods more than his position required of him. It had never clicked. And in moments like this in the stillness of the land, he felt something else, something greater than the statues in the temples and the chants of priests and priestesses. He felt a presence that sought to inhabit his soul and for those rare moments in his life, he felt a sense of peace.

He shook his head. A walk would do him good, and Endymion often enjoyed walking along the outskirts of the palace, seeing his subjects at work. It was encouraging if nothing else… and there was always the possibility that he would see _her_ again even for but a moment.

'You are a fool to desire such things,' he told himself before leaving his chamber.

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She was being half-dragged, half-carried to the guardsmen's entrance, a place where slaves were often beaten or raped, if not both, and left to die. For a wild second her fear gave her the adrenaline to land a hard kick that briefly freed her from her captor's hold. She screamed again as she scrambled away. Her heart racing and her head pounding, she heard shouts and footsteps after her.

'Abba, help me!' her heart cried as one large hand grabbed on to her arm, pushing her to fall ungracefully on her knees. The two guards came to a stop beside her and whoever that had captured her. She tried to claw at them until her wrists were bound and her mouth stuffed with a vile gag. Her blue eyes filled with tears at the sour taste of the gag as she subdued a moan of helplessness. They began to drag her, and for a second she hoped that _he_ would come to rescue her.

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He had been jogging around the palace perimeter, letting the rising heat assault his body as he pushed his muscles to perform. As usual, his mind was at a completely different place as he ran, and if they hadn't been so loud and boisterous, he wouldn't even have noticed.

Endymion came to a gradual stop as he neared the guardsmen cheering and whooping at something. At first he thought it was likely some gambling game or even wrestling match and made to continue with his exercise. He didn't have time to waste watching men cheat each other out of money for the hell of it. But the words he heard next sent a chill up his spine.

"I said, open yer legs bitch!" A man hollered.

Endymion rushed to push a way in the crowd. Some strange curiosity drove him to comprehend what was happening. As much as he was in touch with life outside the palace, he was still somewhat sheltered from the harsh realities of slave torture. At least in witnessing them first-hand…

The sight he saw sickened him so much that he failed to notice the shocked looks surprised guards gave him as he continued to push his way to the front. He was a tall man and stood out among the gathering, but at the moment his attention was focused on the three men and one woman.

Two men raised her almost a half a foot from the ground by holding her arms over her head. Her eyes were wide yet determined as she clamped her body tightly together despite her feet no longer touched the ground. One more guard stood in front of her trying to pry her legs apart and smacking her occasionally. They were too far away from Endymion for him to identify to girl, but even then he moved forward. He didn't know why he didn't say anything or why he was even moving forward… he just knew that it had to stop.

Suddenly, Endymion's heart stopped as he watched one of the guards deliver a hard slap across the captive's face, hitting her so hard that her entire body shook. The linen head-dress she wore slid to the ground as a mass of golden hair slid down the girl's back. The slave's head lolled to the side as the hit had knocked her unconscious.

'The slave…' Endymion thought to himself as he began sprinting to the trio of guards now chortling in their find. Meanwhile two of the men where already lifting the girl up again with much more ease than when she was fighting them.

"Cease!" He bellowed as he watched one of the burliest guards bend over the girl. The men looked up at him first angrily and then surprised at the Prince charging at him. The guard's hand didn't move from the slave's exposed shoulder. Endymion reached them with another long stride and before further slugged the man with a powerful hit.

"Your highness," the other two guards bowed as they dropped the woman to the ground. She hit the ground in a heap, and Endymion's eyes blazed dangerously from her figure to the guards.

"Explain yourself. Were you to take advantage of a defenseless woman?" He snarled as he gathered her up in his arms.

"She was trespassing on forbidden grounds, sire" one of the guards replied.

"She along with any other sensible person was merely avoiding the debris on the main path. Do not think your debauchery will gain favor in my eyes. If I ever see or hear of you detaining women again, you will be relieved of your duties and your family dishonored," Endymion commanded.

He knew his actions were out of character, and he didn't miss the wonder in the guards' eyes. Slowly he stood up with the woman in his arms. From the way her face was bruising, he knew she should be given treatment. But already he could tell it wasn't his woman. She was beautiful, but she wasn't _her_. Something about her seemed familiar but he didn't have time to dwell on the thought now. Sighing in disappointment and anger at feeling it, he headed back to the palace with the woman in his arms.

As an Egyptian, he knew it wasn't uncommon for the guards to rape the slaves. Years ago, there were palace rumors that his own mother was conceived by a violated slave although Endymion had never taken the thought to heart. But today was the first time he actually came close to seeing it actually happen before his eyes. There is a big difference between knowing something existed and actually seeing it happen. His heart went out to her even now after realizing that she wasn't the one he had been looking for.

Nevertheless, the woman had the golden hair although it was a lot golden than silver, and she seemed vaguely familiar…

'If nothing else, she could maybe tell me of the slave girl I seek. There wouldn't be that many slaves with hair colored like hers…'

Endymion was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the palace slaves watching him with curious eyes. One of them scurried off to pass the word onto the others. Tongues wagged and rumors raged. It was no doubt suspicious that the Prince had the exotic slave in his arms and taking her further into the palace.

By noon, word that Mina, daughter of Isis, the golden child, had been taken by the Prince had traveled throughout the slave quarters a mile away.

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The palace physician closed the door behind him with a grim expression on his face. He had been busy attending to a case of the fevers among the slaves when the Prince sent for him. It wasn't every day that he would set his eyes upon such a beautiful woman that even the large bruise across her cheek didn't detract from her comeliness. But when he fully examined her and found her to be mostly unresponsive, he had sighed. The girl would heal when she was ready to, and if she didn't wake up, the damage to her head could be permanent.

"How fares the slave?" Endymion asked.

"She was hit hard, sire. Although unconscious, she mumbled a few times in her sleep. I cannot say for sure how well she shall do until after she awakes," the man replied, his eyes shifty.

"I've sent the palace women to find her family, and I will explain the situation to them personally. Will you return to check on her condition?"

"Of course, but I suggest you leave someone in her stead in case she awakes. She is in a mostly restless dream, your highness, she is liable to hurt herself when she wakes up disoriented," the man advised.

After thanking the wise doctor, Endymion sent for Kenlum. As the head of his military staff, if anyone could keep this girl from hurling herself out the balcony or doing anything else to hurt herself, it would be him. His heart filling with compassion for the girl, Endymion entered the room to check on her.

'For all she knows, she could've been raped and caged. It is important that she understands that neither has happened. I wish they would hurry to find her family…'

"Mama…Selene…" The girl whimpered as she tossed and turned in her rest.

"It's okay. They'll be here soon" Endymion said as he tried to shift the sheets around the girl's shivering body.

He had trouble understanding the compassion flooding his senses. He shouldn't have cared… he shouldn't have hit a guard…

'It's changed some how…'

His mind cleared when he heard the door open and heavy steps approach him.

"What's going on?" Kenlum asked curiously as he looked toward the form in the sheets.

"Watch over her until I return with her family. They've been sent for," Endymion replied as he stepped back to let Kenlum get a closer look.

Kenlum's chest tightened briefly when he caught a glint of golden hair beneath the sheets.

"What happened to her?" He asked roughly when he lifted the sheet a bit to catch a glimpse of the slumbering woman to confirm his suspicions. He nearly choked when he saw her with a darkening bruise across her cheek.

"Some of the guards knocked her out, so I need you to keep her calm when she wakes up. It's likely that she will be very confused and afraid."

Kenlum's fists tightened at his sides as he muttered his agreement to Endymion. When he was left alone in the room with the blonde slave that had danced across his mind for the past two months, he sighed and took a seat by the bed, waiting for her to wake from her slumber.


	8. Reunion

**This chapter is a little more light-hearted, a sort of comic relief if you will. But don't worry! I will continue the drama and suspense in the next installment. Until then, toodles. Oh yeah, thanks so much for the reviews and I'd so love it for it to continue!!! **

Zachariah looked down upon the slumbering man in wonder. A slave woman tended to him by occasionally wiping his face with an herbal concoction. It was obvious that the worst of the heat sickness was over for the man. Shaking his head in wonder again, Zachariah looked to his own medical personnel who stood looking back at him with equal astonishment.

The troupe had been on a visit to the slave quarters in order to analyze the extent of the sickness among the slaves. However, every single shack they had visited so far had either no victims or victims healing at a rapid pace. Every one of the Egyptians was shocked by the treatments the slaves were getting. None of them had ever seen anything as advanced and as effective like it.

Zachariah thought back to his visits to Egyptian homes…the desolation in mothers' eyes as their children could retain no water in their fever-racked bodies…the madness the plague induced in stoic men…Zach ground his teeth in frustration.

Turning back to the slave woman, he asked the question that revealed the helplessness he felt.

"Who prescribed this treatment?"

The woman looked straight into his eyes fearlessly. Zachariah briefly wondered where she got her strength from. She whispered her answer as to not waken her charge on the bed, and Zach's eyes widened at her words.

When he turned back to the fidgeting physicians he had arrived with, there was no longer a frown on his face. For the first time in days, the men saw a joyful smile on the young prince's face. It was so bright and encouraging that they had forgotten how moments ago, Zachariah had silently proclaimed his own defeat to some unknown slave physician.

"Move out," he commanded more like a general than scholar. "Our next destination is the house of the slaves Akham and Tziporah."

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Selene's head had been whirling with questions since the moment they grabbed her in the fields. She was tending to her regular allotment and to Mina's when several Egyptian couriers and guards yanked her from her work. At first she fought them, angry and confused. It wasn't until they had taken her to the wagon they prepared did she see her mother sitting gracefully within.

Isis had calmly explained to her that Mina was under the care of the Prince after being attacked by guards. Shocked and relieved at the news, she began to cooperate with the guards. .

Selene looked out the back of the wagon as they clunked along the rough roads yet her thoughts were not with the changing landscape. She was thinking about her sister and how she was unconscious in the bed she had graced mere months ago. A part of her was thankful to the Prince for his unprecedented mercy yet another part was angry at his triumph. She was returning to him, willingly, in more ways than one. 'He had won,' she thought even though she knew he would from the moment she left him standing in the darkness.

Selene felt her mother's hand on her shoulder and knew that this time she wouldn't be alone. 'Never alone again,' she thought.

Smiling with a joy deep within her, she turned to face her mother and the palace, ready for anything Abba would send her way.

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Anack was pacing restlessly in the Prince's antechamber. She wasn't sure why she had been so nervous except that she was and had been for the past several days. Her night vigils at her private terrace hadn't helped to calm her as usual, and now, she knew that something important was happening.

For the past few days, something had nagged at her. She would try and escape the feeling of restlessness by filling her days with managing court. Although she had never been an official queen, her position as the Prince's mother and her favor in Salik's eyes had granted her much power. She had no desire to sit idly among the harem to gossip and waste away wealth through indulgence and laziness. Anack spent most of her days immerged in running the palace and overseeing work. She had never admitted it to anyone, but after Tekum's death, she had found herself inexplicably drawn to slave life as if she belonged with them more than she belonged with Egyptians.

'Even though Tekum's supposed murderer was a slave…'

But Anack knew more than that. Tekum's supposed murderer was more than just a slave in many ways. Katim had been one of their closest friends and confidants…no, Anack refused to believe in Katim's guilt and had mourned equally for his execution as she had for her love. The thought that Tekum's true murderer was out there somewhere…able to hurt her son…

And her own hidden heritage plagued her mind as well. Endymion's political enemies could rise against him by accusing him of not being a full-blooded Egyptian. No, her demons were her own to fight.

She resumed her pacing when she realized she had stopped at a drawing table, her fingers grasping onto a tapestry desperately. Suddenly the door opened.

"Mother," Endymion greeted as he bowed to her.

"My son," she replied happily, allowing him to rise.

He rose and directed her to an ornate chair while he lingered before her, waiting for her to speak.

"Today I heard disturbing news whilst I was among the slaves in the East Wing. Have you really rescued a young slave woman from a group of guards ready to rape her?" She asked, suppressing a shudder of revulsion. Her own dreaded secret danced on the tip of her tongue. 'No, it isn't time to tell him. It may never be the time…' she thought.

"I have, mother," he replied simply offering no explanation.

"I heard her name was Mina, the daughter of Isis, from the slaves… is this true as well?" Anack continued.

Endymion frowned slightly. Why was his mother so interested in this particular slave? What wasn't he seeing here?

"She hasn't woken to speak to me of her name, but according to the palace slaves that is her name and family. May I ask you of your interest in the matter, mother?"

Isis debated on how much to reveal to him. What would he do when he finds out that the woman resting in his chamber was daughter to his father's alleged murderer? Endymion had been so young when that had happened, and it's been two decades since that dreadful night. Would he remember how close he was with Katim? Would he remember how quickly Katim had been condemned and executed? Would he remember his hatred?

"Mother, are you feeling all right?" Endymion asked concerned.

"I'm fine, Endy," she replied. 'No, I will not bring back those memories for him. When it is time for him to find out, everything shall be revealed.'

"You looked very torn just a moment ago," he explained as he took her hand in his. His mother meant the world to him now more than ever. He had been young when his father was alive, but he knew it as well as the back of his own hand that the love Tekum and Anack shared came only once a lifetime. Since his father's death, he had vowed from an early age to protect her and to cherish her in his father's stead.

"I just wanted to know why they called her the golden child…" Anack said finally as her resolve hardened to keep her secrets. 'He is still so very young, so very vulnerable.'

Endymion frowned thoughtfully.

"Well, she has gold-colored hair…"

"I'd like to see her, if you don't mind," Anack interrupted suddenly.

"Not at all, mother. Kenlum's with her right now," he said as he led her to his room. At this point, Endymion was sure that his mother was hiding something from him.

Kenlum barely looked up from the woman as they entered the chamber, and as soon as Anack saw her, a flicker of recognition flooded her mind. She had never met this girl before yet she felt like she's known the girl her entire existence.

Flashback

Anack had just taken the young Prince back into the throne room from a long walk in the garden when she heard Tekum and Katim approaching. As usual Tekum greeted her with a warm kiss and Katim with a courteous bow. The Prince who had just learned to walk a few weeks ago half-stumbled, half-waddled over to his father, who took him into his muscular arms.

There was pride and joy in Tekum's eyes as he watched his son sit proudly on his shoulders. Anack couldn't help but to blush when Tekum pulled her also into his arms. Smiling, he turned to Katim who watched the trio happily.

"You have asked your Isis for her hand, no?"

"Not yet, tonight I will take her to that lagoon you showed me beside the Nile. By the moonlight, I will ask her to be mine," Katim answered with pride and love in his voice.

Tekum nodded his blessings and looking at Anack and then at Endymion again, he replied solemnly, his words an immortal promise, "Katim, our friendship is more valuable than all the gold and silver in the world to me. Soon I hope to meet your Isis. She shall bear you many children who are brighter than the world's purest gold and greater than the moon's purest light."

Katim bowed his head in acknowledgement and respect.

"By Abba's blessings, I wish my seed to be as you wish, my King…"

End Flashback

Anack's eyes welled with sudden tears. Tekum hadn't lived to see his prophetic words come true and neither had Katim. At that moment, Anack made a vow to protect Katim's family with her life. Because from the bottom of her heart, she knew that Katim would've given up his life to save her and her son.

A knock on the chamber interrupted her thoughts.

A courier whispered something in Endymion's ear as both Anack and Kenlum's attention snapped to Endymion.

"Her family has arrived…" he replied as he turned on his heel to follow this courier out the door.

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Endymion decided that seeing her emerge from the wagon with the cool serenity she possessed when he last saw her was like a slap to the face. He had never felt more alive than in that single second. Secretly, he wanted to hold her in his arms and shake her until she could understand what he had gone through in his absence. But in reality, he could allow for nothing else but a smirk that had signified his acknowledgement of his victory. She had returned to him of her own volition…

She looked straight at him with the same defiance he remembered, her silvery eyes staring into his, daring him to breath normally again. He failed and suddenly felt that she had been the real victor of their battle.

His eyes then moved to her companion, her mother, he decided. She was a handsome woman in her forties. She stood proudly and regally as his mother does despite her feminine height. Nodding slightly to the guards to call off their presence, Endymion took the elder woman's hand as he would've done to Egyptian nobility.

"Your daughter is safe although she has yet to awake. I hope you and Selene's presence will rouse her from her dreams," he said, not looking at Selene knowing that she would bristle at the fact that he knew her name. He had deducted it the moment he remembered back to Mina's murmuring. He had then barred his mind from considering how beautiful the name was and how much it fit her…even though it did.

"Your kindness to Mina has been unprecedented, my Prince. Thank you for sending for us," Isis replied. She knew the Prince had more words for Selene than he did for her and had counted on the fact that they would both try and ignore the issue.

"I am content to merely see my daughter. If it pleases you, I would suggest you discuss the logistics of the incident with Selene. I believe you are somewhat acquainted," she added. Smiling inside, she could just imagine the look in Selene's eyes right now.

The Prince looked just as shocked for a moment, but Isis could hear the silent acceptance in his reply.

"Then I will not keep you much longer. Your daughter is under the watch of my cousin Kenlum…"

A sudden racket surprised them all. Sounds of things breaking came from above, and guards began racing toward the Prince's chamber. Moments later, the sounds abruptly ceased and the hall became silent again.

Selene looked puzzled at the Prince in a moment of weakness. Instead of confusion, she saw a smile of astonished amusement pull at his lips. He returned her gaze with something short of a physical caress as the words left his mouth.

"It appears that your sister has woken."

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Kenlum breathed a sigh of relief when Anack finally left the room. Before she and Endymion had entered, he had been debating whether or not to reach out and touch the girl. He had dreamt of nothing else for the past two months, and now that she was no more than a foot away from him, he could hardly control himself from occasionally brushing her hair from her face or shifting the covers under her chin. Yet he refrained despite his body's desperate urgings.

Sighing, he told himself he was being stupid. The girl was unconscious and clearly in the throes of unpleasant dreams! Slowly as if fearing her to slap him for his liberties at any moment, he reached out to hold her right hand within his own.

Her skin felt smooth against the roughened skin of his palm. Her fingers were long and slender as they instinctively held on to him. Her hand was warm and the sensation of it against his skin sent a steady descent of heat down Kenlum's body. Lost in the feelings her mere hand inspired within him, he brought it slowly to his face, letting it slowly cup his cheek. She murmured in her sleep.

Then he raised her hand to his lips where he kissed each finger softly and reverently as if they held the keys to the world. The tender movement alerted Kenlum to a ferocity within him that made him forget himself. He pressed her hand against his cheek once more as he reveled in the feeling of her, not caring that his stubbled cheek scratched against the soft skin of her hand. He only knew that he had never felt safer under a woman's touch. The warrior within him was finally at peace.

He hadn't noticed that his eyes had closed in his moment of rapture until they opened again. Only this time, instead of seeing her slumbering, Kenlum saw the woman awake and furious.

"You!" She accused simply before yanking her hand away from him and picking up the nearest object to throw at him.

"Wait! You don't understand!" Kenlum replied frowning. He didn't have a chance to continue when he ducked from a used wine goblet.

"Did you send those monsters after me?" She asked again although her tone told him that she had already made her conclusions.

"Of course not!" He retorted angrily as he tried to catch her flailing arms.

"I saw what you were doing with my hand!" As soon as she said it, her face flushed at the meaning of her words.

Kenlum flushed as well. He wasn't sure how to counter that one as he was as guilty as charged. 'I shouldn't have lost myself like that…'

Taking his silence as cowardice, Mina covered her own embarrassment by hurling an ornamental vase. It barely missed her target this time, but before she could gloat at the outraged expression on his face, she found herself pinned beneath him.

Kenlum wasn't thinking when he lunged at her. Two things existed in his mind: one- that if he waited any longer to subdue her, she would've probably knocked him out with something and two- he wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms again, bruises and all.

"Get off of me!" She squeaked when most of his body weight pressed against her.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. Endymion saved you from the guards after you were knocked out, and I was just suppose to make sure that when you woke up you wouldn't do anything stupid like attack innocent bystanders," he retorted even as he shifted his hold on her.

Mina scowled at the triumphant look on his face.

"So that's why you were fondling my hand when I was unconscious. How innocent of you," she said sarcastically as he turned red again.

"If you want to know the truth, I just wanted to feel your hand on my cheek. That is all. If you want to know more, it felt really good," he replied shrugging. Forever frank, Kenlum didn't want to beat around the bush with the girl.

She blushed even through her scowl but recovered fast enough to retort.

"So who are you if you can address the Prince of Egypt by his first name? When I first met you, I thought you were a messenger. And you can get off of me now, I trust the fact that you are no enemy and that I am under the Prince's protection."

'Looks like she's all for getting straight to the point too,' Kenlum thought pleased.

"I am his cousin," he shrugged at the widening of her eyes. "If you didn't run off last time, I would've told you that my name is Kenlum. Might I have the honor of knowing yours?"

"Only if you move off, Kenlum," she teased, annoyed with the fact that he was still very much on top of her and with the fact that she was starting to enjoy it.

Laughing at the razor sharp wit of the girl, he shifted his weight to his arms as he began to scoot off the bed. Alas, at that moment when his positioning was the most suspicious did the door burst open with several guards followed by Endymion, Isis, and Selene.

"Mina!" Selene gasped as Endymion said Kenlum's name in shock. Both refused to look at each other as they looked at the beet red couple on the bed, who incidentally couldn't look away from the other.

Behind them, Isis began to laugh.


	9. Implications

**So this chapter is the turn-point chapter where the characters really start coming around. There's also some more conflict development as Beryl and a new menace comes into play. Hope it makes for a good read. And although I'm trying to make the chapters long(er) for your reading pleasure, I'm afraid I'm running out of time and patience with writing. Keep them reviews coming!**

Lita growled with frustration as she pushed another wayward curl behind her ear. A fine sheen of sweat had formed on her forehead yet she refused to give up, refused to admit defeat. So intent in her work that she hadn't even heard the rumors of a golden-haired slave in the Prince's chamber…so concentrated in her trade that she hadn't even noticed the man standing a few feet behind her, watching her every move.

'A dash of curry, cinnamon, salt…' she recited silently as she labored over her culinary masterpiece. In between thoughts of spices and ingredients, she was fuming.

'How dare the bastard insult _my_ work? I'll show him! I'll show the whole lot of them that just because I wasn't born to be a woman content to opening her legs at her husband's whim…no, that's too light, the flavor hasn't settled in yet…that I'm the best damn chef they will ever see…damn, too sweet…' she mused as she tasted the stew.

This race to prove her culinary ability began a few weeks ago. She had been bathing in the limelight after the Prince's birthday banquet, and the royal chefs had begged her to cook more than three times than usual. At first Lita planned on refusing the pompous fools ready to steal her creativity, but the allure of new equipment, unlimited resources, and rare ingredients persuaded her to give in to her desire to create, her desire to cook.

Everything had been fine. She was happier than she had been in months at the prospect of new challenges. In her new kitchen staffed by slaves she found to be worthy and able, Lita was free to work and to create. She was so enthralled by her work that she didn't even notice when one by one, her helpers had left for the day. She was only focused on creating something so good that she'll create a name for herself as no chef has done before her. Not to mention to tell whoever it was that kept on criticizing her food to stick it.

It wasn't until she heard a shuffling behind her that she finally turned around. In one hand she held a chopping knife, thinking some wayward mouse had found its way into her abode. What she found instead was much more than a simple mouse.

"What are you doing here? Does you precious Prince Natum have something to say to me?" She snarled, silently debating whether or not to use the knife on him. He was pretty close to a rat…right?

"What would you say if I told you I just wanted to speak with you?" He asked, his gaze darting to the chopping knife in silent amusement.

"Don't you know it's impolite to bother someone when she's working?"

He smiled much to her annoyance, or pleasure; she couldn't decide.

"Ah, but you were the one who turned to me first. I was ready to patiently wait for you to finish. Besides, I was enjoying the view," he said wiggling his eyebrows.

His angular face pulled into a childish smirk almost pulled a laugh out of Lita. Almost.

Instead she turned back to her food. Thinking better of it, she shifted so her back wouldn't face him directly, and she unknowingly did him a favor by granting him a side view. Chopping at vegetables with a sudden zeal, she ignored his barb.

"So why are you really here?" She asked suddenly happy for the company. 'Well it beats talking to yourself all day!' She told herself.

"I told you. I was here for my personal tasting pleasure," he replied from directly behind her. Lita would've stepped forward if it wasn't for the shelf directly in front of her. No, that's a lie. She would've stepped back if she could've gotten away with it.

"Haven't you heard? My food isn't perfect. There's always something wrong with it…" she replied accidentally giving away her greatest fears.

He was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Those were lies. You've done nothing wrong."

'Should I tell her that it was I who complained? That it was I who wanted to watch her work to improve, to do her best? Should I give myself away?'

Her chopping stopped as she put her knife down. She turned slowly to face him although she had to lean against the shelf to keep from being too close to him. Even the mostly immovable Lita reacted to the man less than a foot away.

"Are you saying that you believe in my ability to succeed?" She asked softly as if she was talking to herself.

"I don't need to believe. I've seen your creations, and I know those were just the tip of the pyramid," he replied almost as softly.

"You are nicer to me today. Why?"

"You looked back that night. Why?"

She looked away briefly but returned his gaze.

"I did. I guess I just wanted to see if you were coming after me," she shrugged.

"Did you want me to?" He persisted.

She shrugged again not bothering to answer. So maybe she did want him to put up a fight for her. She saw desire in his eyes that night. Was it still there?

She looked into his eyes and found him smiling.

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" He asked gently as the implication of his words sank in. His head leaned down towards her slowly, giving the often-times brazen young woman to turn away. He wanted her badly, but he didn't want to force her. After two months of investigating and observing, Natum learned that if he forced the woman, she would cut loose and disappear. She had to make the first move. Thus, when their faces were a mere breath apart he stopped his descent, throwing her a ultimatum. If she wanted a kiss, she was going to have to get it herself.

When Lita saw that he wasn't coming any closer, she wanted to groan in frustration. Either the man was a tease or he was an expert at seduction. She pretty ready to be subjected to any demand, kitchen be damned! 'Wait! The stew!' Her mind shouted as she heard the tell-tale hiss of food burning. She veered around, nearly taking out his nose with her shoulder, and tried to remove the pot from the hot oven. Both groaning from frustration and ire, somehow they ended up working side by side, saving the stew by making it into a sauce. It wasn't until she left him at the entrance of the palace much later did she realize that they didn't know each other's names and that he hadn't tried to kiss her again. At the end of the night, she wasn't sure which thought bothered her more.

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Isis' laughter was still the only discernible sound in the room. The guards stood idly aside as they awaited orders. Endymion and Selene still refused to look at each other, both preferring to seethe at the pair on the bed. Mina and Kenlum were still too stunned to attest to the innocence of the situation. Mina was the first to regain the ability to form a sentence.

"If you had gotten off earlier like I told you…" she hissed at a flushed Kenlum not realizing that her words added to the incriminating evidence against them.

"What were you doing to her?" Selene demanded at the sight of her sister's bruised eye, forgetting the explanations given to her in the heat of the moment.

"I was working on dismounting…I mean getting off…ugh! Some help, End?" Kenlum growled as he finally slipped off the bed, hoping the bedposts provided some protection from the fuming women, not that he wouldn't mind some more physical contact with the blonde on the bed.

Endymion, forced to defend his cousin's honor, finally allowed himself to face her. Unfortunately, the sight of the defiant pose, the flushed cheeks, and the flashing silver eyes nearly sucker-punched him in the stomach.

"Kenlum was just watching over Mina while she slept," he tried to explain even though he kept on tripping on his own tongue.

Selene was infuriated by the man.

'What made him so damn special? Why wasn't he apologizing for being an asshole? Oh yeah, because you were a bitch to him earlier… at least he was kind enough to bring Mina here under some obviously excellent care.'

The realization angered her even more. She looked at him sullenly as she mumbled "This is all your fault anyway" beneath her breath.

"Children, children! What is going on here?" A regal voice announced her entrance at the doorway, silencing the room again.

"Mother, we were just checking on…" Endymion began even as he watched Anack's attention move from Mina to Selene to Isis.

"Your grace," Isis bowed even as Anack pulled the woman into a hug while whispering softly into her ear.

"We need to have a talk, you and I."

When she pulled back, the occupants of the chamber were shocked into silence again.

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Amy was lulled out of sleep by the sound of voices in her sleeping chamber. In the hazy aftermath of fever, she stirred sleepily even as she opened one eye to see Raye conferring with some man.

'That's impossible…why would a strange man be here in my room?' She wondered.

Nevertheless, the deep baritone continued. Although it sounded somewhat familiar to Amy, its crisp cadence showed that the voice belonged to a scholar, a man learned in the arts of oration. His words were clear, precise, and proper.

'I've heard this voice somewhere before…What are they talking about anyway?'

Her ears felt stuffy as if they were filled with cotton. She could only catch a few words of the man's words.

"Remedy…"

"Fever…"

"Palace…"

"Treatment…"

"Amilene…"

Something clicked in Amy's mind. No one called her that! Except maybe… the memory fell into place.

It must have been the man from the palace! The Egyptian scholar who knew she lied to the priests was in her room! Instead of worrying whether or not she would be captured and tried for treason and blasphemy, she could only think that she must've looked a mess right now. She moaned in sudden embarrassment.

The voices stopped.

'Great, now look at what you've done,' she chided silently as she tried to sink under the straw mattress.

"Amy? Are you feeling better?" Raye asked tentatively as she pressed a cool cloth to her head.

She ignored the question and pretended to sleep. 'Maybe they'll give up…'

When she felt the cloth removed from her forehead, she thought she had convinced her friend to leave her alone. Breathing a sigh of relief, she tried to relax again.

Until she felt a hand too big to belong to Raye brush over her brow gently. The surprise of the touch and the implication of the hand's owner caused Amy to jolt up in bed, eyes wide open.

"Holy…" she began as her eyes fell on the man the Guardian had called 'your Intelligence.'

"We meet again, Amilene, daughter of Akham and Tziporah," he said softly even as his eyes traveled downward studying the girl in whole.

Noticing his gaze, Amy looked down as well only to whip her head up in embarrassment. She was clad only in a thin linen shift that stuck to her like a second skin after her feverish sleep. She blushed furiously and covered herself by crossing her arms over her chest and turned her back on him.

"Why are you here? Where's Raye?" She demanded, currently pissed at aforementioned friend who had the bright idea of leaving her alone half-dressed with some Egyptian noble.

"First off, Amilene, you may call me Zachariah. I am here because I wanted to see how you were doing. Second, your friend Raye went to the well to draw some more water for you. She will be back shortly," he answered politely.

Secretly, he wondered if that had been a sufficient answer. He had come to her quarters with the official intention of researching her treatment. However, unofficially, he was elated that he finally found an excuse to seek her out again. For two months he had wished for this…

"Call me Amy," she replied so softly that he nearly missed her words. He put a hand on her shoulder wanting for her to turn back around to face him.

"I must look a mess right now," she mumbled as she pulled the sheet up to her chin.

Zach said nothing as his gaze trained on the spot where her short-styled hair touched the edge of her shoulder. He wanted to reach out and touch the spot with his lips.

"Amy! You're awake!" Raye exclaimed as she suddenly entered the room with a jar of water. "I see you've met one of the Prince's cousins, Lord Zachariah. He was saying the most wonderful things about your heat sickness treatment!" Raye chattered cheerily even as Amy exchanged a questioning glance with Zach.

She had been disappointed to learn the real reason behind his visit and surprised of his exact royal status. 'What did I expect?' she asked herself angrily.

Sensing Amy's discomfort, Raye abruptly stopped chattering and looked at Zach thoughtfully. She knew of Amy's feelings about the man based on the conversations between the girls, but she hadn't been sure of what had occurred between the pair during her brief absence. Suddenly she caught herself wishing that Jaden was here…

"Perhaps you should come back later, my Lord. She's still not…" Raye began.

"If you will permit me, Amy," Zach interrupted with his eyes trained on the woman. "I will return tomorrow to see you."

Amy fought against the hope that rose within her chest. She told herself that he was an honest man and that he had his people's well-being at heart. Telling herself that he expected her to act professional, she nodded her head.

With that Zachariah nodded to Raye and left the room swiftly. He didn't think he could stay any longer before begging her to let him explain his motives. Yes, her treatment had prompted him to seek her out, but he had also been looking for a way to speak with her since their first meeting.

'Beg? What am I saying? The Nile will freeze over before I beg a woman for understanding,' he told himself in a flash of pride.

But even above the feeling of unease as he discovered the first woman to challenge his intellect and body, there was also a feeling of eagerness. He knew he would ride out to see her again tomorrow.

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Salik lounged on a large daybed surrounded by his court. A young Egyptian beauty was feeding him fresh imported coconut strips while the scribe read news to him from his scroll.

The Pharaoh paid no attention to the droning voice of the scribe as his eyes followed the graceful movements of the young woman's arm. He felt the forerunners of desire cloud his mind as he reached out for the woman, eager to derive pleasure from her young body. With Anack's usual aloofness, Salik found himself desperate for the female companionship she continuous denied him.

Before he could touch her, a messenger scurried before him and bowed at the foot of his pedestal.

"What is it?" He snapped at the trembling man.

"Your majesty, there's a foreigner here to speak with you, sire. He said he was…" The courier paused to shudder.

"Spit it out!" Salik snarled impatiently. On one hand, he knew that many visitors demanded an audience before him and that the courier should have known better than to disturb him. On the other hand, Salik was afraid… 'Could it be him?'

"Sire, he said his n-n-name w-w-was…"

"Speak or forever hold your tongue!" Salik roared as two guards stepped forward, slipping long daggers from their side.

Whimpering in fear, the man finally choked out his message.

"His name is Da'Mon," the man whispered hoarsely. Gasps of shock and shudders of fear passed through the crowd. Men whispered among themselves and women looked at each other wildly. Only Salik remained seemingly unshaken.

'Fools! The lot of them! They have no idea what Da'Mon is capable of…' he thought silently.

Aloud, he addressed the courier in a commanding tone, "Where is he?"

"Your study, sire."

And then Salik was gone. Beryl, who had been serving the Pharaoh Coconut slices, put the tray down and followed behind him. Everyone else was too busy quaking in fear to notice.

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'How do moms do it?' Selene asked herself as she followed Endymion toward the terrace. Mere minutes after Anack had whispered into Isis' ear like a childhood friend, she had dismissed the guards and left Mina under Kenlum's care, much to the twins' disapproval and much to the cousins' chagrin.

'And then she sent me off with the Prince…what a tangle! I must not let him get to me, I must be unbreakable and unreachable…I must…'

Endymion came to a stop at the balcony, his arms spread apart as he leaned against the marble. He stood tall, and he held his head proudly. His back made an impressive silhouette against the horizon.

Selene's breath came in quick when the breeze blew a strand of hair to fall across his forehead.

And then he turned to her, his face was blank. Only in his stormy eyes could she read the words that were never spoken between them. She looked away.

"You lied to me, Selene." His voice was somber yet gentle. He spoke without doubt or accusation because they both knew it was the truth.

She nodded. It was unreasonable to feel ashamed of her actions. She had to escape him. She had to! Didn't she?

"Well, I warned you," he continued in a lighter tone.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked with a raised eyebrow while taking a place next to him at the balcony.

"I told you that you never had to see me again if you told the truth, and you just admitted to lying…" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"That's not what I meant!" She said sullenly. "You tricked me into…"

"Then tell me you don't mean it. Tell me you told me the truth that night," he challenged as he stepped closer to her, forcing her to lean her back against the cool marble.

'I lied! I lied!' She wanted to admit it even though he already knew it.

"What does it matter? Since you're so smart and…"

"Say it," he whispered harshly as a hand landed on her shoulder gently.

"What for? Why should I pander to your vanity, Prince?" She insisted even as she swayed briefly, fighting the urge to lean into him. It was a losing battle but she stubbornly refused to give in, at least not yet.

"Why are you so afraid of the truth?" he countered.

"Fine! Fine! I wanted you! I enjoyed it! I enjoyed all of it! Are you happy now?" She exclaimed, unable to handle the way he was looking at her, the way he touched her.

"The question is, are you happy now?" He asked even as he looked down at her, wondering if he had the same effects on her as she had on him.

It was an odd feeling for Endymion. The passion and desire he held for her wasn't as irrational as he originally thought. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. His want of her did not numb his mind as most mindless relationships did. Instead, it made his mind stronger as if it had found some missing piece and was now functioning better than ever. She was like a continuation of him. Their lives were caught up in the same absolute. The words of the prophecy came back to him… could this be what it meant?

"Are you okay, Endymion?" She asked, not realizing her slip.

His grin returned although he decided not to point out that she had finally used his name with him lest she vehemently deny it in her stubbornness.

"Were you worried for my well-being, princess?" He said instead and in turn, made a mistake of his own.

She looked at him stunned, unsure if she should take the endearment as an insult or as a compliment.

"I am a slave," she said softly. Reality, the cruel reality away from the palace, away from him was setting in like a draft around them. Once again, the momentary peace she enjoyed with him was shattered.

Endymion was thoughtfully silent for a moment. Why had he let that slip out? She was a slave! She was a slave! Yet each time he repeated it, the less it meant to him. Princess? She was like no princess that he had ever met. But who was he kidding? Just as he encouraged her to embrace the truth, he had to reevaluate himself as well. The fact was that her happiness made a difference to him, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he made a difference to her as well. Slowly the thoughts were manifesting themselves into action.

He saw her facing away from him, toward the distant slave quarters. Did she realize how beautiful she looked at this moment? Her grey eyes were lit gold by the setting sun. The dying day colored her light hair as the breeze blew stray strands around her face.

"There was a time when you being a slave would've mattered very much to me. In many ways it still would if you were…" he stopped, unable to share his pain with her. He resolved to keep his battles to himself.

"Why did you choose me for your prize?" She asked suddenly with a hint of pain beneath the surface of her calm repose.

"I saw you in the fields working. I had never met you, spoken with you, or seen you, but that day I saw the way you held yourself. You looked like how a real woman should've looked, as if you lived without guilt, without fear, and without hate. I saw a part of myself in you," he stopped guiltily before continuing. "I wanted to break you. I wanted to see you submit to me. That was the prize I sought."

"Do you wish that I did?" She asked gently. After weeks of contemplation, she had her answer. His confession hadn't hurt as she had predicted. In many ways it liberated her. He was speaking the truth, and she was finally ready to accept it, to accept him. She understood what he had felt that night because she had been feeling the same need to dominate, to win for the sake of her people. They were just two people caught in a greater war. Although that night and at this moment, they seemed to be the only people on the face of the Earth.

'Yes, I understand, Endymion,' she said silently.

"Not like that." Endymion's eyes trailed over features, wanting to remember her in this moment.

She whispered throatily when her body whipped to face him. The words had barely registered in Endymion's mind when she fell against him, letting his arms wrap around her.

"But don't you see that I already have?"

Once more blessed with the feeling of her pressed against him, Endymion smiled. It wasn't a sarcastic or pained. It was a triumphant smile that celebrated his capacity for life and for the life he was holding in his arms.

When she looked up at him, he saw the same smile reflect upon her face and understood the implications of their expressions. They were two people from different worlds that were both very much in love with life.


	10. Reality

**So I think it's time to bring up the time-period speech issue of the story again. My justification for making my characters vary between modern-day slang and more sophisticated English is this: through-out time, slang (plain speech) has existed in all civilizations. I am acting under the premise that young, vibrant Egyptian women would speak more freely (and sometimes less gracefully) among their close friends and family. Since I do not know the exact specifications of Egyptian slang, I ask that you view the dialog of my characters' speech as modern day translations of actual Egyptian speech. And I'm almost positive that they cussed then (I just don't know the exact words they used). So work with me here! Me no know Egyptian… So after all that chatter, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! **

"Damondius," Salik greeted although he stumbled over the foreign syllables. "To what do I owe this visit?"

Zarek Damondius, a powerful governor from the not-so-distant city of Babylon, returned the question with a cold glare. The willful Amorite hadn't rested since he departed his mansion in Babylon, and the exhaustion he refused to acknowledge was taking a toll on his patience. 'Exercise calm, Zarek. This has been over twenty years in planning. You cannot let your anger at a buffoon cheat you out of your destiny now,' he reminded himself.

"I heard the first-born Prince of Egypt celebrated his twenty-third year recently," Damondius drawled instead, settling back into his seat as he watched a single drop of sweat run down the Pharaoh's face.

"Indeed," the man answered stiffly. "But your abrupt arrival…"

"You know why I've come," Damondius snapped impatiently, bright anger flashed in his eyes.

Salik's nervousness increased another notch. Of course he knew why Damondius had returned to Egypt after twenty years. How could he forget that night when his very throne depended on it? Yet he had hoped that the man sitting across from him would've forgotten and written off the deed as a favor.

'Wishful thinking…you knew this was coming,' he told himself. But then again he had never fully experienced Damondius' anger. In the past, whenever Salik dealt with the man, he had always sensed a smirk in the Amorite's manner but never this intense coldness. For the first time in his life, Salik understood why even Amorites under Damondius' rule called him "The Diamond." Aside from the bizarre fact that the man was an albino with startlingly pale skin and cream colored hair, Salik could feel the cold bitterness seep into his bones in a single well-directed glare. The man was hard, indestructible, and glitteringly rich just like his name-sake.

Nodding in half-apprehension, half-contempt, Salik squared his shoulders, reminding himself that he was still the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Damondius smirked suddenly, his manner predatory.

"Relax Salik. We are old friends, you and I. I'm merely here to fulfill a bargain we've made in the past. Surely you remember that," he crooned as if explaining things to a child.

"I have been sending you grain and women as promised for the past twenty years…" Salik began uneasily. Despite Damondius' assurances of their friendship, Salik couldn't repel the feeling of fear gnawing at his nerve. Damondius easily held Salik's political career in his hands, and he knew it.

"Yes, I know," Damondius snapped impatiently before taking a deep breath. "You ought to understand the current instability between Mesopotamia and Egypt, especially with those worrisome slave uprisings you used to have before I helped you stop them."

"Relations will improve. Egypt has never been more prosperous, and…"

"And more vulnerable to attack," Damondius answered for him.

"What are you insinuating? That Egypt is under threat?" Salik asked his voice rising.

"I am merely stating a fact. The armies are building against your favor and with Egypt being the peaceful country it is…"

"Should I start militarizing the country?" Salik asked suddenly fearful. In all of Egyptian history, combat was reserved for royalty as past-times, and there had never been a centralized army.

"That's not what I am saying at all," Damondius snapped, his grey eyes flashing.

"Then what should I do? We are a peaceful, hard-working people. The idea that another warring state can just take over our labors for their own gain…it's barbarous. And my throne?" Salik looked up questioningly at Damondius who was smiling at him.

For some reason the man's smile gave him no comfort, no reassurance.

"Don't worry, Salik. That is why I have come in such a hurry to Egypt. I believe I have a solution for your dilemma."

"Oh?"

"After careful deliberation and thought, I decided that I am willing to grant my protection to Egypt by voluntary annexation. I am willing to provide my trained troops to protect your throne from attack. I am willing to oversee the safety of your people by providing troops to enforce your royal decrees, until you have your own army that is. If you should decide to train your own troops, I will give men to help them train. However, it is a long process that is usually most-effective when you beginning training young boys for combat," Damondius finished with another unsettling smile.

The pale flesh of his temple twitched vaguely as if he were exercising great restraint. Beneath the surface of the skin, a vein throbbed violently. Salik turned his gaze away as his contemplated Damondius' words.

"What do you gain out of this arrangement?" He asked soberly. He was deathly afraid of this man, and it took every single ounce of strength to remain sitting calmly.

Damondius laughed heartily as he held Salik's gaze. There was no amusement in his pale eyes.

"We are friends. There are many benefits for me in this arrangement. I expect entertainment and nourishment for my men and that our regular arrangement will continue. But you understand that I have Egypt's interests at heart as I am fond of the land."

"Your troops' presence will give you much power within Mesopotamia and within Egypt," Salik countered.

"Yet if you waited for another Mesopotamian army to arrive, they will not be willing to help you train for your own army," Damondius challenged.

Salik retreated sullenly into his thoughts.

"Think on it, Pharaoh. But remember that time is of the essence. If you don't mind, I would like your answer in three days at which time I will return to Babylon to make the necessary arrangements. Until then, do you have lodgings for me and my men?" He asked congenially, his tone suddenly light.

Nodding absently, Salik called for a servant to arrange things before walking Damondius to a lavish guest suite. Before the Amorite entered the room, Salik felt a sudden urge to ask the man a question that's been nagging at his mind.

"Why did you introduce yourself to my messenger as Da'Mon?"

"For old times' sake. Your own brother called me that, don't you remember?"

"No, I mustn't have been there," Salik answered puzzled. The implications of the name had shocked him when his first letter from Damondius had been signed Da'Mon, but he never knew the origin of the title for the Amorite.

Damondius chuckled mirthlessly.

"No, I guess you weren't."

He stepped into the room and closed the door resolutely behind him.

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Iris bowed reverently to the Prince's mother. She had often seen the woman working along the palace slaves and making sure everything was running smoothly and had developed a sense of respect for her. When Katim was alive, he had spoken often about how his love for her rivaled that of Tekum's love for Anack, and deep down, Iris knew that Anack had resented Katim's execution and had mourned for him along for Tekum. However, she had never spoken with the beautiful woman before and had been just as shocked as everyone when she was greeted as a close friend.

"Come now. We mustn't waste our time with formalities. I've waited twenty years to meet you, Iris," Anack said softly as she led the other woman to some chairs.

"Have you, my lady?" Iris asked surprised.

"Of course, and call me Anack. Katim mentioned you often…"

The women lapsed into a momentary silence as both reminisced about the past.

"Tell me, where did Katim propose to you?" Anack asked softly.

Surprised at the random question, Iris stared at the woman for a moment before answering.

"He took me to a lagoon that the Nile cuts through on a full moons night."

Anack's bright smile distracted from her moist eyes.

"That was where Tekum took me as well. He had helped Katim plan that night…"

After that moment, the two women opened up to each other as if they had kept in touch over the past twenty years. The difference between their social castes and their separate ways of life didn't detract from the comfort and strength they gave each other. Iris confessed her fears for her daughters and briefly explained Abba's promises for the young women. Instead of being alarmed or disbelieving, Anack had listened attentively. After so many years of silence and prayer, Iris finally felt a part of the burden she carried lifted off her shoulders. In turn, Anack revealed her hopes for Endymion and his cousins, for the future of Egypt, and for herself. Above all, she wanted to be free from Salik's hold, and she was certain that once Endymion took over the throne, she would be allowed to resign her post from Salik's harem. The women provided great comfort for each other, and before they knew it, the sun was already replaced by the silvery moon.

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Mina lay stiffly on the bed with her back turned to the infuriating man behind her, wishing he would go away. She was sore and tired from the morning's events, not to mention terribly embarrassed from that little bit of miscommunication in front of the Prince's mother and her own family. All she wanted was for the man to leave her alone, but no! Ever since the others had left, Kenlum was automatically reinstated as her official guard – as if someone would break into the Prince's chamber and molest her. Speaking of which, she felt odd to be in this particular room especially since she knew that Selene had graced the same sheets before… silently, she wondered how many other women had felt the luxurious bedspreads currently wrapped around her. She wasn't jealous, albeit a bit curious and defensive of her sister. She knew that Selene harbored deep feelings for the Prince.

'And how many women have graced the sheets of the man behind me?' She wondered suddenly before flushing in anger. Yes, she was angry with him. But she was to blame as well. The rush of sensation she tried desperately to block hit her again as she briefly remembered the hot weight of him pressed against her…

Although he had sat quietly beside her in enormous room for the better part of the afternoon, she still felt that his presence took up most of the space in the room – just like the first time her eyes laid on him in that cramped corridor. Groaning in frustration, she hazarded a quick glance behind her only to see the man smirking insolently at her. She threw him a dark glare before turning back. 'The nerve of the man!' she thought angrily even as curiosity tugged at her.

"So if I'm obviously still alive and breathing, why is he still in the room?" She asked herself.

"You know, you could just ask me," Kenlum drawled.

Cheeks suddenly flushing, Mina scowled as she turned slowly to face him. She had been so caught up in her musings that she'd accidentally spoken aloud.

"Who said I was thinking about you?" She replied airily while retaining her most ungraceful scowl.

The man put his hands up in a gesture of indulgent surrender and muttered, "It was just a suggestion."

Mina looked away from him briefly to regain her composure. She needed to time to rebuild her defenses when every glance or word from the man seemed to destroy them.

She tried to redeem herself.

"Besides I can't very well demand answers from a prince of Egypt, now can I?"

One eyebrow raised, he gave her a piercing look. "Does that matter a lot to you? My birth-right, I mean."

"Well just look at the Prince and my sister! Or didn't you notice because you were too busy trying not to look like a lecherous fool?" She taunted hoping to best the man.

"But I am a lecherous fool, especially when it comes to women with blonde hair and a black eye."

Bitterness crept into Mina's eyes as she laughed painfully.

"Don't you mean a slave? Only slave women are subjected to this sort of torture… I must be a mess right now," Mina murmured bitterly as she trailed a gentle finger over her face, testing the fresh cuts and bruises.

Kenlum drew closer to her suddenly as he brushed her hand away from her face and replaced her fingers with his own. His forefinger traced the contour of her cheek softly as he spoke.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said softly, his tone intimate and sincere.

Not understanding the source of his concern yet also realizing how important it was to her, she knew that she had to ask.

"Why are you still here with me?"

"I wanted to make sure that you were safe…" he replied after a moment. His hand left her cheek, and Mina swallowed her automatic protest.

They both retreated to their own thoughts for a moment until a grin spread across Kenlum's face. Mina looked at him questioningly, not missing the firm laugh lines around the man's eyes.

"What's so funny?" She demanded when he refused to let her in on the joke.

Giving her a wink, Kenlum replied, "I was just wondering what Endymion's going to do about his sleeping situation tonight. You are after all in his bed…"

Mina flushed completely red as she half-jolted off the bed.

"Abba's mercy, you're right! This has to be highly improper! What am I to do? He would let me leave with Selene and Mama, won't he?" She asked as she involuntarily grabbed Kenlum's forearm.

"Well, I don't know… he'd probably want to keep you in the palace so the physician can check up on you. Besides with the heat sickness going around, you're better off in the palace where it's cool," Kenlum replied solemnly. If Mina hadn't been busy considering her options, she would have noticed the glittering spark in his eyes.

"Well there has to be some guest room I can stay in! This is the palace for Abba's sake!"

"The maids will have to prepare one for you and that won't be done until morning. So the question remains, where would you go for the night?" He asked.

"I don't know, but I'm surely not staying here! I've been here longer than I ever needed to be!" She replied vehemently already making moves to ease herself off the bed. Wincing in soreness and pain, she felt strong arms steady her wobbly movements.

"You know, I live in the palace too," Kenlum said softly into Mina's ear. The combination of the tickle of his breath and the suggestiveness of his words caused Mina to shiver.

"As if I would even consider it!" She replied, her throat dry. Her soft retort came out too husky to ring true.

"Oh believe you me, Mina. By the time I'm done with you, it would be the only thing you're thinking about."

Without waiting to here her haughty reply, Kenlum hoisted her up into his arms. As much as he trusted Endymion's honor around Mina, Kenlum didn't want cruel palace gossip to mar the perfect creation in his arms. He would rather create rumors of them together than of her and another man. He had expected her to protest or even fight his most liberal move yet she did neither. Instead, she laid her head against his shoulder and let her long hair trail beyond them like a giant banner. Smiling to himself at her most unusual sign of acceptance, he carried her out of Endymion's chamber hoping that someone will show up and tell him where to take her.

'If no one shows up, then she is definitely going on my bed. Who can say that I didn't try?' He thought silently, hardening at the mental image of her golden hair strewn over his bedspread. Without thinking, he lowered his head to lay a kiss across her bandaged forehead. This time, his touch aroused no gasp or shriek. In the wake of his soft kiss, the only sound lingering in the hallway was the shadow of a contented sigh.

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"Are you afraid?" Mina asked her sister as they sat side-by-side on the large bed. Endymion, Anack, and Kenlum had insisted that Selene and Iris stay in the palace with Mina for a few days. They had arranged for one of the larger guest rooms to be prepared for them in record time and gave them any items they needed. Despite Mina's profuse thanks to Endymion and Anack for their hospitality, her eyes lingered mainly on a laconic Kenlum as if they were speaking with each other silently. Selene had been very appreciative of Endymion's effort as well and had surprised everyone by kissing the Prince softly on the cheek before retiring for the night. And after much badgering by a newly energized Mina, she finally admitted to working some things out with Endymion. However, their joy was short-lived as Iris reminded them of a very serious issue.

"Does he know who you are? Who your father is? Will he love you then?" Iris had said slowly. The implications of her words took only seconds to sink in.

"He…he doesn't love me anymore than I love him," Selene retorted.

"You can't escape your destiny, child. Just like you can't escape the fact that your father was executed for high treason by murder of the Pharaoh…"

It had been hours since those words were spoken. Iris was asleep in the adjoining room, leaving her daughters to each other.

"Afraid of what?" Selene replied, refusing to discuss Endymion any longer. She had just been reunited with him. Couldn't they have at least a full day of happiness before reality caught back up with them?

"Heavens! You know of what! You said he admitted to choosing you for the ritual as a martyr to his father's death. And I saw the vision! I saw how much his father's death affected him! Will he be able to trust you long enough for you to explain that our father didn't kill his?" Mina insisted as she searched Selene's eyes.

"What do you want me to do? Tell him first thing in the morning about this past we've only discovered months ago? I think he's really like it if I give him a kiss good morning and follow it up with 'Gee honey, did I forgot to mention that my father was charged and executed for killing your father?' That'd really make his day, not to mention ours. I've always wanted to be publicly humiliated and executed!" Selene took a deep breath after a rant before continuing in a softer tone.

"I know that he'll find out eventually. But is it selfish of me to want to see love and passion in his eyes when he looks at me instead of hate and distrust? If it is selfish then I don't give a damn anymore. Mama said we can't escape our destiny, and he is the one part I wouldn't mind having around."

"Oh Selene, I thought you said he didn't love you…" Mina crooned even as she smoothed a soothing palm over her twin's back.

"If I tell him tomorrow, then he will never have a chance to try…"

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The moonlight spilled like liquid silver across the land of Egypt. It was past midnight, and most of the residents in the city were asleep. One man remained awake and alert as he sat shirtless on his private balcony. His alabaster skin soaked up the healing touch of the moon. This was the only time during his life when Zarek Damondius could go shirtless in the elements.

Being born an albino in a country where dark skin ruled had scarred the young Damondius for decades to come. Unable to play outside for long periods of time with other children due to the sensitivity of his pale skin, Damondius grew bitter and cold toward others. Damondius grew up under the contemptuous gaze of his father and the meek guidance of his mother.

If it wasn't for his noble status, he would've never been accepted into society. As he grew older, he began to understand a simple truth: if he was ever to fulfill his ambitions, he would have to play by a different set of rules. So he began to train religiously under the greatest warriors of his time, inside of course, and to study with the most cunning strategists in the land. In a society where power lies with brawn, Damondius won his battles first with the mind.

However, as great as he became, he was lonely. Although he had the respect of men and the acceptance of women, he knew it wasn't genuine. They respected him because they were afraid. It made him wonder if anyone ever loved him…

The first sight appeared to be an apparition. The flimsy white linen of her night robe fluttered delicately across her knees as she made her way to the marble railing of the balcony. Long silver hair blew in the gentle breeze, creating a trailing tail behind her. Damondius blinked, hard, trying to clear his head of this most impossible vision. A sudden loud crack of sound disrupted the serene sight as the woman whipped around directly toward him. Absently, Damondius realized that he had dropped his goblet in the wake of his discovery.

She was even more beautiful from the front. Her granite eyes were widened in surprise; her rosebud lips opened in a small "O." She was perfect…and she was slowly retreating into her room.

"WAIT!" He shouted across the distance separating them. A loud echo reverberated back to him.

"Shh!" She scolded suddenly as she added in a whisper, "My mother and sister are asleep!"

"I didn't mean to startle you," he replied sincerely as he tried to engrave her image into his memory.

"It's okay. I really have to get back though…" She said even as she began inching her way back into her room.

Silently, Damondius was angry and embarrassed. She must have been scared of his looks. She must have never seen an albino before, not that her looks were entirely ordinary. Did she think she was better than him? She didn't even know him! But no matter, no one had ever taken the time to understand him. And no one ever will…especially not the perfect woman.

The woman must have sensed his sudden distance as her backward retreat suddenly stilled.

"Are you all right?" She asked quietly, concern evident in her voice.

Damondius was startled. The girl was actually concerned about him, a stranger? Was this a dream or was it reality?

The silence settled in around them, and the girl took another hesitant step forward.

"Do you want me to go find some help for you, sir?" She asked.

Recovering from his temporary inability to speak, he shook his pale head vehemently. "No, that won't be necessary." He wanted to say something else, anything else, to get the mysterious maiden to stay. Whoever the woman was, she and her family must hold some importance to the royal family. Salik would have known better than to quarter him with commoners or servants.

'And this woman is nothing short than a goddess…'

She smiled obviously relieved. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. I apologize for intruding on a private moment."

Alarmed that the woman would walk out of his life forever, Damondius rose to his feet and called out to her.

"At least tell me the name of the mysterious moon maiden," he pleaded to her retreating back.

Selene debated on whether or not to tell her name to the shirtless and unusually pale man but decided that no possible harm could come out of it. Putting on a friendly yet resolute smile, she turned to him briefly as she crossed the threshold of the balcony and said softly, "My name is Selene."

Unknowingly, Selene had ensnared herself into the clutches of destiny the moment she retreated into the darkness of her room.


	11. The Third Day

**My, oh, my… two chapters in two days! I'm on a roll. Please reward me with all sorts of reviews… pretty please!**

Salik was sweating like a pig. The man sitting across from him remained rigid, cold, and impenetrable. Salik was afraid.

"So it's agreed? In a moon's time, I will return to Egypt whereby you shall turn over every available able-bodied man for my troops to train. My generals will have the power of vassals in your land, and I will have rules over all matters military, until you establish your own councils, of course," Damondius summarized the past hour of negotiations.

Salik nodded solemnly. Over the past three days he had considered the Amorite's proposal. He reasoned that it was logical. He wasn't sure that he could completely trust Damondius, but if he refused, the man will ruin him politically, or worse. It hadn't been easy to quell the rumors sprouting about the palace about the mysterious foreigner especially with the simultaneous rumors of a man arriving to the palace and claimed his name was Da'Mon. Salik had spent the past days and nights to himself, avoiding anyone and everyone who dared to question him about the stranger. So distant was he from palace life, he had not seen his sons or his nephew Endymion and had never heard about the three enchanting slave women who resided in the palace under the Prince's protection.

"There is one more thing needed to seal the deal," Damondius said slowly and easily. Although his tone was light almost as if it was an afterthought, the narrow flash of his cold eyes told Salik that his words were not to be taken lightly.

"Yes?" Salik prompted anxiously. A single sweat-drop rolled down the side of his temple. Damondius' face scrunched in a derisive smirk at the sight of the Pharaoh's fear.

"As I mentioned before, I'm not getting much out of our deal except for my own peace of mind. Yet now, it has come to my attention that I desire to see more of one of Egypt's woman. My attentions to the woman are honorable although persuading her to leave her family here to join me in Babylon would be quite trying. Thusly, I want you to find her and present her to me as a tribute to the peace between us. In time she will learn to love me…" Damondius trailed off wondering if he had revealed too much of himself.

'Is it a weakness to want to be loved? Will she become a liability to me when the rest of my plans are carried out and much of Egypt is burned?'

"Who is she?" Salik asked curiously. He had never seen any emotion in the man before, and its sudden appearance shocked him. 'Could this woman be the key to Damondius' control? If I could somehow make the woman a spy, she could keep an eye on the inside for Egypt, but who is she? What woman could finally arouse sentiments in the Diamond?'

"I know not for I have only seen her once. Her name is Selene, and she was quartered in the guest chamber next to mine for the past nights. I assumed she was a noblewoman's daughter, your guests…"

Salik shook his head.

"I have been preoccupied as of late and have been unaware of palace events. But if she stayed in the palace, she will be relocated with relative ease. You have my word that she will be ready upon you and your army's arrival in a moon's time."

"I would advise you to not spring the announcement until a few days before I return. If I were you, I would not want her to overreact and escape. Are we understood?"

Salik nodded firmly.

'Oh I understand all right. Whoever this woman was, she was the key to controlling Damondius, if such a thing exists,' he thought as Damondius stood from his seat and stalked off to begin preparing for his departure.

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Lita had been spending each available moment in her kitchen, cooking the most delightful courses she could think up. Anyone who had the pleasure of tasting her creations sent messengers to bring her gifts and money only to get a tired reply. She wouldn't admit it, but she was disappointed. The man hadn't returned to see her. She had been hoping that perhaps he would show up with butcher knife in hand ready to cook with her again. Although his cooking skills were elementary, it was his enthusiastic presence and his intimate gaze that she missed the most.

Chopping furiously, she turned her attention back on her cooking. A stray curl fell out of the messy bun she threw her hair in earlier, and she tried vainly to blow it out of her field of vision. Suddenly, she had a vision of being in the kitchen with him and having him reach out to take her curl between his fingers before pulling back behind her ear.

Groaning in anger at her turn of thoughts, she gave the curl one last harsh blow before giving up entirely.

'And stop imagining him here. He's more trouble than he's worth anyway. His large body takes up most of the room in here, so I have no choice but to lean against him when I stir the soup or have his hand cover mine when I teach him how to chop…And the nerve of the man! Distracting me by trying to kiss me in the middle of cooking a meal? But then stopping! Well I'll show him who's the stronger of the sexes. I don't care. See? I don't care. I'm perfectly content to cooking by myself, and I'm doing a hell of a job too. Not caring! OUCH!'

She looked down to see a cut on the tip of her thumb. A small trickle of blood started to well up on the offended finger, and Lita cursed under her breath. She has never, ever, ever cut herself while chopping vegetables before!

But that hardly mattered now. She had to get the wound bound before she could return to cooking, and she had to get treated fast or the pastries would burn! She strode to the doorway while squeezing her finger to slow the blood flow with quick steps… and walked into the wall.

"Oomph," the wall grunted.

'Wait a second! Walls don't grunt!' She thought wildly as she looked up to see him looking down at her bleeding finger.

"You're not a wall," she said dumbly.

"You cut yourself," he replied instead.

"What are you doing here?" She asked growing hot of embarrassment of her previous remark.

"You cut yourself?" He looked as if he was amazed by the feat.

"Who the heck are you anyway?" She demanded while jabbing him with a finger on her other hand.

But instead of answering or even acknowledging the question, he was busy ripping off a piece of his fine linen uniform and dressing her finger in a make-shift bandage.

Dumbly, Lita looked on at his work without saying a word. The feel of his strong fingers working nimbly to cover her wound was the only thing real to her at the moment. Until she finally realized that the tunic uniform he wore was very special indeed.

"You're royalty," she said simply. She wondered why it took her so long to notice the fine fabric and cut of his clothes. Each time she's seen him, including that first night in the kitchen, he had been exceptionally well-dressed and groomed yet she hadn't noticed until now when all she could do was stare at the ripped uniform in awe.

"My name is Natum. I am one of the Pharaoh's sons," he replied softly as he held her newly bandaged hand in his, afraid to let her go.

"I don't understand… why did you seek me out? Why are you here?" She asked dryly, the blood draining from her face. She didn't know why the truth scared her–she was most often the bravest and toughest out of the girls.

"I couldn't stay away. I tried too, but I can't. Don't reject me for who I am, Lita. Can you handle the truth about me?" He asked her sincerely. Natum had avoided coming to her for the past several days knowing that she would be waiting for him. He hadn't wanted to capitulate to her whims, but in truth he already had since the night he let her go. He didn't know how this would work with the difference between their statuses, and for once it didn't seem to matter to him. All he knew was that this meant more too him than any common palace romp featuring a horny noble and a young slave beauty. He had too much honor for that, and he knew that despite what society told him to feel for slaves, Lita deserved more than an illicit, ill-fated tryst.

"I just wish you hadn't told me," she answered softly.

For a moment Natum's heart deflated. His shoulders sagged slightly and his jaw went slack. 'Was it over before it even began?' He wondered.

And then she looked up to him with those wide almond-shaped eyes of hers and gave a timid smile. Imagine! His fiery chef smiling timidly! The sight made his weak uncharacteristically weak but it was her next words that stopped his heart.

"Before I had a chance to do this," she said as she tilted her head to capture his lips with hers.

The kiss ended all too soon to Natum's liking and he protested by pulling her closer to him keeping her trapped in his embrace.

"I hope that meant as much as it would have if you hadn't told me your true identity," Lita said softly. To Natum, she almost looked shy.

"It meant everything to me," he replied reassuringly. He understood her fears and knew that they were valid. Most women would jump into his arms without knowing his status, but almost all of them would cling at his robes with the knowledge that they could become a princess.

At the whispered words, Lita softened his arms even as a light blush colored her sun-kissed cheeks. Clearing her throat almost self-consciously, she turned her head to the bubbling of jars and bottles behind her.

"I think my pastries are burning," she said thoughtfully, her mind once again on her art.

Laughing in joy and relief, Natum picked a stunned Lita by the waist and twirled her around the cozy kitchen. Both out of breath yet content, he tugged her close to him before whispering sweet promises into the smiling woman's hair.

The pastries sizzled forgotten on the clay stove.

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"You wouldn't dare!" Amy challenged.

"What would you do if I did?" Zachariah retorted.

Amy pretended to think over it for a bit before resolutely whispering her answer into his ear.

Grinning wolfishly, an odd sight on the usually stoic scholar-prince, Zach winked conspiratorially at her.

"Be right back," he said before exiting Amy's chamber. She sat expectantly, wondering if he'd actually go through with it. Moments later a large shriek came from outside followed by the sound of deep laughter and a squealing Raye charging after the prince.

Feigning innocence, Amy looked up quizzically at the two, one laughing uncontrollably and the other soaking wet staring daggers at the other.

"What is the meaning of this?" Amy asked.

"Your –your boyfriend over here drenched me for absolutely no reason! I demand justice," Raye finished haughtily as she noticed the bright red flush spreading across Amy's face.

'Aha! I knew calling him her boyfriend would've done the trick,' she thought satisfied.

Zach stood beside the fiery woman studying the petite woman blushing furiously at her table. Papyrus full of data he provided lay neatly in front of her. Her recovery had advanced greatly during the past three days, and she had demanded to continue her work on perfecting her treatment of heat sickness. With Mina and Selene away at the palace, Raye was able to remain to care for Amy should she need it. But with Zach spending most of the day with the intriguing young woman, Raye was hardly needed.

But that wasn't what was on the prince's mind at this moment. Raye's words had affected him as much as they had affected Amy.

'Was she really my girlfriend? Is this even allowed?' He wondered as he watched the nervous fluttering of her eyelashes. Their relationship, if you could even call it that, had grown by leaps and bounds during the past few days, but it could hardly be classified as romantic at least by Amy anyway. Zach knew that the stirring of desire flooding his senses whenever he watched her chew thoughtfully on her bottom lip or smile with the pure, undiluted joy never found in the stuffy lives of noblewomen in palace was not platonic feelings for a close friend. For the first time in his life, Zach knew that he wanted this woman. Sure she may not have been the most beautiful woman in the universe or the most seductive yet each time Zach laid eyes on her, he knew that this woman was his equal in heart and mind.

'I want her to be more than my girlfriend even though that may not even be possible. She deserves so much more than that single meaningless title. She has earned it,' he thought. At that moment, Amy looked up at him with those wide, curious eyes of hers as if she read his thoughts.

Sensing the shift in mood in the room, Raye smiled knowingly before bowing out gracefully.

"Well I guess I needed a bath anyway. Any is forgiven, this time. Just don't do it again," she said menacingly. When she saw that the couple was too engrossed in their own world, she shrugged to herself. They won't miss her for the afternoon.

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Endymion strode purposefully down the corridors with one goal in mind. He was looking for Selene. That past three days has shown him a lot about her, her family, and himself. He learned how she hated idleness, loved running about learning about anything and everything; how she wrinkled her nose at times or winks charmingly at others. He saw how she was kind to everyone, how she respected herself, how she expected the best out of people. He loved the way she looked at him because it was the same way she looked at herself. But then he saw other things about her. She was afraid of something. He'd frequently catch her staring intently at some invisible entity only to accidentally frighten her when he shakes her out of her reverie. She was hiding something from him –but what?

To be fair, he knew that she had a right to her secrets. They barely knew each other after all. But the thing was that Endymion was afraid as well. Selene didn't know it but Endymion was scared to death! Imagine, the great Prince of Egypt, a man with a heart of ice, scared of one beautiful slave! Ludicrous! Preposterous! Yet he was afraid of the fact that he wanted to know everything about her. He was terrified of wanting to wake up to her face in the morning and to tell her his desires and thoughts during the dark of the night.

But most of all, Endymion was petrified of loving her when it meant betraying two decades of promises he made upon his fathers grave. And he knew he would do it, for her, for himself. What he didn't know if she could love him back knowing he would always have a vendetta against her people for a murder committed 20 years ago.

He intended to find that out and more today. Time was running out, and this time, Endymion was going to prevent her from running away for the last time.

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Selene was packing up the last article of clothing into the chest when Endymion slid into the room. Kenlum had taken Mina on a walk around the palace while Anack had invited Iris to dine with her for the afternoon. Tomorrow they would be leaving the palace and all the riches they had come to enjoy. A part of Selene wondered if she should be ashamed of enjoying herself in the palace, but she knew she held no qualms of letting the luxuries go. She didn't know if letting Endymion go would be just as easy.

Since when had she started thinking of him as Endymion? It made it all the more real. And now he was standing behind her running those impossibly beautiful hands over her bare arms.

She stood tall trying not to let him see how much a simple touch affected her. Sooner or late he will find out about her father. Selene knew her father was innocent, but Endymion didn't. She had no proof, and even if she did, Endymion may never believe it. So the future wasn't clear, but she had the now. She had the feel of his fingers caressing her shoulders, her jaw, and her cheek. She had him now… she won't waste it.

"Come with me," he said.

"Where to?" Her heart was racing. Why does this happen every time he was near?

"You'll see," he replied huskily even as he led her out the room. Dazed, she wondered if she could have even refused.

They traveled on foot under the hot afternoon sun. She wondered if the whole world was burning up, if the fire of desire coursing through their veins had teamed up with the sun to consume everything in heat. The only thing preventing her from liquefying into a puddle was the firm yet possessive hand on her waist.

She concentrated on the heat of his hands. 'Oh how many lives are under the control of his hands? How many pleased lovers have felt their touches? How much of my soul they hold!' She shuddered in pleasure at the memory of those hands on her. Endymion noticed yet did not speak. They continued until they reached the bank of the Nile and then continued north from there. When Endymion finally stopped his long strides, he whirled Selene around him to face their destination.

It was the lagoon. The sanctuary she had stumbled upon the night after she escaped from Endymion…the place her father proposed to her mother…the place Endymion had brought her for some unknown reason…it was before her and he was behind her. Time stopped as she turned abruptly, her reaction surprising him, and propelled herself into his arms.

'The future belongs to Abba, but He has given me the now. I won't waste it,' she thought as she met him for a passionate kiss that rivaled the brilliance of the very moon.

'This is home,' they both thought silently as they slid to the mossy bed of the lagoon.

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"Why are you all wet?" Jaden asked bemusedly as he lifted a silky strand of Raye's hair.

"A certain brother of yours decided that it was time that I had a bath," she remarked airily feigning annoyance. She was in her lover's arms, how could she complain of anything else?

"Do you want me to beat him up for you?" He asked in a solemn voice, his possessive manner coming out to Raye's chagrin.

"Since when have you been so eager to fight for my honor? Egypt is a peaceful nation, at least from the outside," Raye said soberly. What had almost happened to Mina had affected her deeply. That could have been her…

Sensing her unrest, Jaden pulled her closer so he could rest his chin on her soft shoulder.

"I can't change how the kingdom is run. The violence that befell on Mina is the result of 20 years of change, and I am one man. I will, however, protect you, Raye. Because seeing you safe is very important to me," he said seriously.

"But you are not alone. Your brothers and Prince Endymion, they will join you. Once Endymion takes the throne, won't---"

Jaden snorted.

"As of late Endymion hasn't been himself. For two decades I listened to his plans of punishing the slaves for his father's death…how could one woman change a man's character?"

"Forgive me if I sound presumptuous, but what of you and I? You have changed me, Jaden. Have I not changed you as well?" Raye asked looking up at him. 'He is too beautiful for his own good, really.'

Jaden smiled wistfully replying.

"Well if you put it that way, then maybe Endymion has changed after all."

"Now that we've decided on this issue, how about you help me out of this wet robe?" Raye whispered huskily as Jaden's hands moved to obey.

What began as gentle kisses and caresses quickly turned into liquid fire as two hearts melted together into one.

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"This palace is huge!" Mina sighed exhausted as she hoisted herself unto the large bed. Laying back she propped her arms under her head as she studied the intricate canopy pattern.

"You did well considering how sore you still must be," Kenlum replied pleased at the view of Mina stretched out on the bed. 'My bed,' he amended.

"Tell me, do you usually hop on someone's bed and make yourself at home?" He asked knowing he'd receive a scowl from her.

"Well you dragged me down here to grab a change of clothes. Can I help it that I'm tired?" She retorted moodily even as she rolled to get up.

"Don't get up, Mina. There's no where else I'd rather have you anyway," Kenlum replied as he walked over to his wardrobe.

Mina blushed madly at the insinuation but stayed where she was. She couldn't move anyway at the sight of Kenlum's chiseled back. 'Are those muscles even possible?' She wondered.

Lita sent some pastries and beverages to her earlier, compliments of her and Prince Natum, which made Mina smile, and Kenlum had accidentally spilled his drink on himself. Insisting that he wanted to change, Mina had followed him to his room before they were to continue on their walk through the palace grounds.

But now Mina wondered what would happen if she were to stop the tour here. If she were to bid Kenlum to his bed and have him take her as his…Shaking her head at her wild thoughts she smiled to herself. Since when did she become so wanton? She knew more of the intimacies between man and woman than Selene did. She's kissed more, flirted more, and teased more. But what was so different about this particular half-dressed prince? The kisses they shared before were absolutely amazing but that's all they'd ever be. The secret touches between slave and royalty. Mina knew that Selene's problems with Endymion were far worse than her own, but her identity and her past still prevent her from being with Kenlum. Should scandal break out, and there was no doubt that it eventually would, society would separate them. They were fighting an uphill battle.

What had the past few days meant to her? What had she accomplished? As her wounds healed so did her spirit. The life-loving girl she had always been resurfaced after years of dormancy. It seemed that she'd been unable to be free since the year she developed breasts. Men flocked to her for her beauty but never for her accomplishments, for her soul.

She was sure that whatever Kenlum felt for her that it was this kind of desire that she's been craving. Kenlum desired her soul.

He finally finished dressing, knowing that Mina had watched his every move. The way he stalked to the bed was predatory and calculated. He left just enough time for her to refuse. Thankfully she didn't. The serenity of her expression did not betray the hunger in her eyes but Kenlum noticed. He knew her as well as he knew himself. She didn't know it yet, but they were already one. There was one act left. One act Kenlum found himself wanting to repeat everyday for the rest of their lives. It was so much more than sex or even making love.

It was a single act of celebration for not what two people searched for but for what they already found, as natural and as necessary as breathing the very air that gives life to newborns.

"Are you sure about this?" Kenlum asked even as he saw the answer reflected in her liquid blue eyes.

"Aren't you?"

Then there were no more words exchanged between them.

And that was that.


	12. By The Moonlit Nile

**OH SNAP! Numero 3 is out within 3 days! This one's a little different since only Endymion and Selene show up, but it's hella important because it develops their relationship more. This chapter also focuses on the contrast between their visions of their future together. For those of you who are impatient to getting back to the main storyline, don't overlook this chapter! The other couples are pretty much going through the same things but to a lesser degree, and some major themes are developed as well. Anyway--- I'm really proud of myself, and I demand reviews! It's only takes you a few seconds but it is oh-so-satisfying for me (for more than a few seconds)… SO REVIEW!**

'So this is contentment,' he thought as he watched her stretch lazily beside him. Surely he had been dreaming for the woman before him couldn't possibly exist. She was too beautiful, too pure, and too alive to belong in the world he's grown to know, the world he will soon inherit. 'If only she could rule at my side, then the world could see the woman who shares my heart…'

The aforementioned sighed as she rolled over to face him. Strands of silvery hair framed her lovely face tempting him to reach out to brush them out the way.

"The sun's setting," she said softly to him as her eyes blinked sleepily.

"Your powers of observations continue to serve you even through your obvious exhaustion. How are you feeling?" He asked no longer teasing. He had hurt her, but it had been a necessary evil. No woman escaped the fate.

Ducking her head to hide her blush, she shook her head reassuringly at him.

"You worry too much, End. I've never felt better in my life."

The way she looked now nearly undid him, again. But as much as he wanted her again and again, he desired her to confess her need as well. He didn't want the afternoon going on evening to be one-sided even though she had been quite vociferous.

"Is something the matter?" She asked huskily. How he loved the lilt of her speech, low and feminine as if each syllable could end in a pleased purr. But she was caressing his roughened cheek as if studying the very contours of his face. He mumbled an apology about his unshaven face when she pressed her cheek to his in a mutual caress.

"No, I like the way it feels. Don't ever apologize for being a man," she murmured as Endymion shut his eyes in a sudden well of emotion.

'What on Earth is wrong with me? Since when have I been so overcome by a few simple words and a couple of light touches? When had I ever delighted in a woman's voice or the contours of her body as I do in hers? Why do I care about her thoughts, her dreams, and her wishes? Why can I not see myself without her with me? What does this mean? Am I in love?' He wondered before taking a deep breath full of her light scent.

"Something is the matter!" He was snapped out of his thoughts by a searching gaze on his face. She was so concerned that her brow was crinkled and her lips were set in a stubborn pout. He immediately pulled her close, letting her rest against the length of his body. He had forgotten that he was still undressed until he felt her pressed against him. Cursing himself inwardly for suddenly losing his train of thought, he pulled himself back into the task of getting some much needed answers out of her.

"Do you regret what's happened between us?" He asked solemnly knowing that the next few minutes would determine the fate of their relationship.

She tried to sit up at the tone of his voice, but his sinewy arms kept a firm hold on her. She couldn't see his face, not yet, not when he could reveal so much to her and when she could do so much to hurt him.

"I don't regret it. Perhaps I should since I think I broke a lot of rules by sleeping with you, Abba's rules, although that's a still a gray area for me, and probably some Egyptian rules too. But I can't bring myself to regret what we shared. Not any of it…" She rambled even as she looked down at their nakedness in slight wonder.

"Your God, Abba… what rules of his have you broken?" Endymion asked curiously. The slaves were loyal to their Abba and have been for as long as anyone could remember. They followed a strict code of moral and ethics and although Endymion had once learned of the basics through a tutor, he had never taken the time to speak with a slave about her religion.

'A slave… I must not forget that she is still a slave. A slave that by law is mine by birth…'

But she was too busy trying to verbalize all the sins they've committed to notice the slight tightening of his hold on her.

"Fornication since we're not married is the main thing… it's a big deal for us. Women are supposed to remain virgins until marriage, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it," she said matter-of-factly.

Despite the serious nature of their discussion, Endymion couldn't help but to grin at her nervous rambling.

"So why did you decide to fornicate with me?" He asked teasingly.

"If you keep that attitude up, it won't happen again," she threatened even as they both trembled in remembrance of the past few hours.

"All right, seriously now. Why did you choose me, Selene?"

"Because I knew that my body belonged to you. Just as yours belong to me," she replied slowly yet confidently, the words rolling off her tongue with no thought. She seemed as surprised as Endymion after they were said, and the pair took a few minutes to ponder on it.

"You're right," he finally said. "You're absolutely right."

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Selene bit the inside of her cheek to suppress her grin. He felt the same way! Well it was actually more than a feeling; it was knowledge! But the black cloud that hung over her head suddenly returned.

'He feels this way now, but what will he do when he finds out?' The wind seemed to whisper to her within her mind.

Selene didn't know what he would do. Kill her? Shame her family? Impose even more restrictions on the slaves? Never see, speak, or touch her again? All of those were valid options to the Prince of Egypt. Who would dare disagree when the only casualties would be a few slaves? But she would be devastated.

'I have to know. I have to find a way to prevent him from think that I betrayed him. I love him…'

She didn't have enough time to ponder on that last thought as she picked up where they left off in the conversation.

"Tell me about your father, End," she requested softly. If her lips hadn't been exactly below his ear he would've never heard it. But the moments that followed her request were deathly silent. Life in the lagoon paused as she awaited him to either begin or to throw her aside, neither of which was comforting.

Finally, he relented by taking a deep breath.

"What do you want to know about him?" He said tonelessly, trying to force the feeling from his voice.

"I want to know if you hate me because I was born a slave. If you hate all slaves because you believe one killed your father," Selene replied calmly, already readying herself to be flung from the warm cocoon of his arms.

Instead he seemed to hold onto her tighter. Selene silently wondered if he meant to squeeze her to death rather than to throw her from him.

"How can I hate you when we've already established that we are one? Do you think I am one to hate myself?" He asked as he rained kisses over her face. Her eyes closed automatically in case he should see the fear and love in them. It wasn't time for him to know yet, not when he could so easily discard her. Not when she didn't have concrete proof to offer him.

"But what of my people, Endymion? Do you hate them?"

"What does it matter when it is you I am holding? You used to despise Egyptians –how do you feel now?" He countered between planting kisses down the column of her neck. It was becoming hard to concentrate, but this was vitally important to her and to him although he didn't know it yet.

"What if a slave didn't kill your father? What if it had been someone else?" She asked her throat dry. How far could you push a man before he snapped? 'I guess I'm about to find out.'

The kisses stopped at her breast bone. His dark head flew up, his back tensed, and his blue eyes were stormy and unreadable.

"Who else could it have been?" He demanded in a dangerous tone she had never heard before. It was the sound of a beast trying to break out of a man. It was the sound of death.

"I don't know!" She wailed in fear. 'How can I be so afraid? This is it! Everything else may seem fine and dandy, but this is the Endymion he will reveal to me once he discovers the truth. I haven't lied to him, but I have not told him the truth either. The fault lies with me but I can't save him from the pain either way. I have to take what is given to me now before it is all gone, and soon, it will be.'

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Her cry had startled him out of his anger and desperation. What did he expect from her? She knew no more than he or Anack did… Although no one actually saw Tekum murdered, the one punished was as guilty as sin. How much that had hurt him as a child, watching the two men he loved the most both drenched in blood, his father's blood…

'No more doubts. It was him. It had to be him. And I curse his children and their children and their children after that for what he did to my father. I won't rest until the day I rid every last one of them,' he said to himself. The vow was decades in the making, but now he had to new purpose. He looked down tenderly at the woman beneath him, the love of his life. Where would he find another like her? He knew he loved her. He knew it since the moment he hugged her even closer after she asked the question no one else had dared to ask for twenty years.

'I love her,' he thought again joyously. It was so simple. It seemed so sudden yet it was so perfect. This was more than lust, curiosity, or novelty. This was how his father must have felt when he met Anack.

He would protect her to the end of their days from the offspring of the man who killed his father. Even if at one point in his life, he loved him just as much as he did his real father.

But he had the future to look forward to now. With the realization of his love, he was no longer afraid of loving her. He was no longer afraid of anything. Love absolved all fear.

He looked down at her. She looked pained as a bittersweet expression lingered on her ethereal face. So he comforted her the only way he could. He resumed his slow yet consuming kisses at the corner of her mouth waiting until she responded. When she tilted her head to meet him, he took her mouth possessively and confidently.

From that moment on, each touch and each sigh blended together so that they were indistinguishable. Even when the three words that ran in the undercurrent of their actions were murmured in the heat of passion, it was impossible to decipher who had actually said them. But semantics were obsolete now. Under the ivory cast of the moon, the lovers were entwined in their own world by the moonlit Nile.


	13. Beryl's Plot

**This one's short, but for a good reason. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I need the motivation to crank out 14 in the next week, and that's going to be one loaded chapter so PLEASEEEEE!**

Salik listened to the steady rhythm of her beating heart with a wary ear. No changes, no improvement, no excitement.

Sighing in disappointment, he hoisted himself off of her before collapsing on the bed beside her. Her slender hands moved swiftly and unemotionally over her body. She covered herself with the wrap he had neglected to remove from her. Her body was hidden from his view; she faced away from him.

'As always…' they each thought silently.

Salik's breaths were slowing as he slowly recovered from his burst of passion. He hadn't planned on visiting her tonight. It'd been so long after all, but he had seen her at dinner speaking with Endymion, who for once was smiling, and he knew that he would come to her. But the passionate woman who shared herself completely with Tekum did not exist for him. She barely even peeped throughout the entire process except only to grunt in a slight protest when he first entered her.

It wasn't that she wasn't aroused by his attentions. Salik knew that her body was pleased with his touch. However, it was her vibrant mind that prevented her from responding to him like she did to Tekum. It was her soul that he wanted…

'I have to say it anyway. Even if tonight isn't the night that she will finally return them, I still have to say it,' he thought. 'At least she is not fighting me anymore like in the old days. The days after Tekum's death.'

He thought back to their first time. It was one moon after Tekum's burial, the official end of mourning. But she cried still. During the days even as Salik transitioned into his new role as Pharaoh, he would watch her cradle the newly angry Endymion to her breast as tears rolled down her lovely face.

She had been young then, and Salik had thought that she would grow out of her pain. The quickness she fell in love with Tekum gave him hope. She would come to love him one day, he had been sure of it.

As the new Pharaoh, he had inherited his brother's properties, his title, and his possessions, which included her. Salik knew he was entitled to having her whenever he wanted. The knowledge gave him reassurance, but it did not save his pride.

She rejected him when he sent for her that night. The guards he sent were confused as to what to do with her. Under normal circumstances, they would've dragged the woman to the Pharaoh, but with her being the mother to the Prince and the obvious favorite of the late Pharaoh, they had let her be. It had been rumored that Pharaoh Tekum touched no other woman except for her after they met and that had been unheard of in the land. Marital fidelity was unknown for the Pharaoh who could afford to keep as many as 500 women in his harem.

Her rejection shamed him in front of the guards. Her refusal to accept him as the replacement to her love wounded him beneath the surface as well. Salik knew he couldn't let her get away with it. He had stalked to her chambers and raped her.

Sighing again, he wondered how much had changed in twenty years.

"I love you," he said sincerely to her averted face.

She did not reply.

'I will always love you and that will never change,' he said silently to her.

'I will never love you and that will never change' was her silent reply.

Slinging his legs over the side of the bed, he began to dress.

"I have something to ask you."

She waited patiently, apathetically.

"Who were the women housed in the guest rooms on the East wing?" Salik was surprised to hear her soft gasp. He had never seen her react to his words like that before.

"Just friends of mine," she answered evenly after a moment.

"Where can they be found?" He asked again, intrigued by her odd behavior. It's been two days since Damondius left him with the task before leaving for Mesopotamia, and he hadn't had any leads on the mysterious woman. The questions he asked to the maids were so simple yet their answers had always been convoluted. No one wanted to give him answers except that Anack was with them much during their three day stay. He had been suspicious… his servants were hiding something.

"Why do you need them?" Anack asked instead.

"Times are hard, Anack. I recently made some diplomatic decisions that will affect the future of Egypt, and I have promised one of the women to a foreigner."

"What decisions? Does Endymion know anything of it?" She asked as her interest piqued.

"What does he have anything to do with it? It was a private matter, and he is not yet Pharaoh. He doesn't control the land. I do! I am Pharaoh!" Salik was angered by her sudden enthusiasm. It was always Endymion to her. It seemed that after Tekum's death, Endymion was the only man that was alive in her mind. It infuriated Salik.

"Which one of the women did you promise?" She asked, a sudden knot drew on her brow, the meaning of his words finally sinking in. 'He promised one of the women to a foreigner? What foreigner? Which woman?'

"He said her name was Selene. I need her in one month's time or there will be hell to pay. If she is your guest then I will need you to bring her into our custody in three weeks time," Salik answered. He was amused and somewhat appeased by the fear in Anack's beautiful eyes. Had he finally gotten through to her?

"What makes you think I would do such a thing? How can you promise the girl's future away? You—" She bit back her gasp of pain when he clamped her wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Watch yourself, Anack. If the girl is not here in less than a moon's time ready to be carted off to Babylon, we could all die, including your precious Endymion," he snapped in a steely voice. Salik didn't know if he was merely exaggerating or finally admitting out loud his greatest fears. Was Damondius capable of such genocide over a woman? Who knows? But Salik knew that if the girl wasn't present the day he rides back into the city with his soldiers, blood will flow to mix with the Nile that very day.

"What have you done?" Anack asked shrilly as he suddenly dropped her arm and stalked to the door. He would not turn to face her. In his mind's eye, he had seen Damondius driving a sword into Anack's stomach and putting out the light in her bright eyes forever. 'She doesn't even care for me yet I love her. I can't let anything happen to her…' He thought as he exited her chamber in silent determination.

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She waited in the shadows for the Pharaoh to exit Anack's chambers. 'The man took his sweet time,' she thought annoyed as she shifted to let the blood rush to her feet. She was impatient, no strike that, she has been impatient to speak with the Pharaoh. The things she's learned the past few days just snooping around will serve well for her purposes.

It began when she followed the Pharaoh to his meeting with "Da'Mon" who really turned out to be an Amorite with a controversial proposition. She took pains to remain relatively hidden as the men spoke and when she was found by some guards, she compensated them with a few favors of her own. From a young age she had been able to convince men to cater to her will with her beauty and her body. Now that she's had a taste of the Prince, the future of Egypt, she knew her sights were finally set on a worthy goal. She wanted to become his wife.

She could do it too. Her blood was noble; her body was desirable; her upbringing taught her the tricks of nobility… She would make an excellent ruler by her Pharaoh's side. Moreover, she would cater to his highness's needs, bear his children, and return his love. She was sure she could love him. Who couldn't love the man? But it would be more than that. When she became queen, all of Egypt would know that she, Beryl daughter of Inazak the noble, had more right to the Pharaoh than anyone else in the kingdom.

Now with her added knowledge of the Amorite who called himself Da'Mon and the woman he sought, she had leverage with the Pharaoh. She had paid the servants who served the guest rooms handsomely to keep their mouths shut when the Pharaoh asked them questions. She had allowed guards who were within earshot of the Pharaoh and Zarek Damondius' conversations to her bed in exchange for the content of their discussions. And then she did a little snooping of her own and found the prize she sought after constantly with the woman Selene.

Her face contorted in a grimace. 'Who did the bitch think she was? A mere slave consorting with the Prince? The idea was preposterous!' She snorted mentally. Yet it had happened. She had followed them to the lagoon and found her worst fears confirmed. Endymion was in love with the odd-looking slave. They were in love.

'Not for long…' she gloated in a sing-song voice. In a fit of rage and jealousy, she had spent a great deal of money on spies sent into the slave quarters. There they gathered information about the silver-haired, grey-eyed slave and reported back to her. Chuckling to herself in satisfaction, she had listened intently on the reports.

'So the little bitch had a little secret…' she smirked when she had heard it all. With that final tidbit of information, she was ready to make her case to the Pharaoh. And then with his permission and blessing, Beryl would expose the little twit's secret to Endymion and to the entire royal house. And with her out the way, Endymion would finally be hers. He'd probably be proud of her!

Beryl smiled again when she finally saw the Pharaoh emerge from the chamber.

'Life is good.'

She slowly slid out the shadows toward her prey.

**Did you forget about Beryl? She's back and yuckier than ever! Hell has no fury like a woman scorned…**


	14. Time

**Okay you guys. Here's some housekeeping items: I used some historical references in this story. I can't reveal too much yet but the Amorites, who did live in Babylon, played a big role in Egypt's transition into a militarized state. They also introduced horses and chariots. Another issue that will come up soon is the age issue. According to biblical references, Moses who comes almost 300 years after Amorites leave Egypt lived to be around 120. So the characters in this story should naturally live to be around 150… I think. But enough with all that. Soon more shall be revealed. REVIEW ALL! If you want more, you're gonna have to work for it. Heaven knows I do…. **

"Where is my son?" Anack demanded wildly. Her usual composure missing, hair mussed and out of control, the guards outside Endymion's chamber stared dumbly at the Prince's mother.

"Tell me!" She demanded shrilly catching the attention of other servants passing by.

"He left after dinner, your grace. We don't know where he is," they finally answered helplessly.

She fumed angrily and turned on her heel determined to find out Endymion's whereabouts from his beloved cousins. 'Surely someone had to know what Salik was planning on doing! I'm not a fool… I put two and two together the moment I saw him and Selene together. If anyone could stop this madness, it would be Endymion.'

She paused in shock and sudden understanding when Kenlum's chambers proved to be empty as well. Just as she suspected, Natum, Jaden, and Zachariah's chambers were deserted as well.

'They are together…with their women.'

Her sudden panic calmed by the warm knowledge that at least tonight, the young men were happily together with the young women who had earned their love and respect. She decided to give them peace until morning.

'If we cannot put a stop to the foreigner's plans, they will only have until the death of the moon to be together.'

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Damondius wiped his sweaty forehead with his forearm before climbing off his mount. He had finally made the days-long journey back into Babylon. His men were exhausted yet he was still energetic.

'How could I not be when I know the prize awaiting me back in Egypt?' He thought joyously.

He handed the reins of his horse to some stable boys before climbing the steps into his home- a masonry masterpiece decorated with the finest furs and silks from the orient.

Once he reached his private rooms, he was surprised and disgusted to see two dark women lounging upon his bed.

"Azal. Yetil. What are you doing here?"

The women looked up at him with heavily kohl-lined eyes before beckoning to him with their arms and legs.

"We've awaited your return for days, my lord," Azal replied bowing her head.

"It has been a long trip, my lord. Rest your weary bones with us," Yetil added with a come-hither smile.

Damondius fought the violent urge to vomit. He was beginning to notice things he often overlooked. The two whores, instead of looking voluptuous and desirable as usual, disgusted him. He could easily see the heavy wrinkles around their eyes and mouths. The breasts he used to love burying his face into looked like drooping fruit that no one bothered picking anymore. Their stomachs, although bare and decorated with gems and minerals to add sparkles to their tawny skin, were strategically placed to hide the stretch marks they had from illegitimate pregnancies. What had he ever seen in these women?

"Leave or die," he commanded.

It took the women a few minutes to understand that he wasn't joking, and then they were gone.

Then after stripping the sheets that reeked heavily of their sweat and perfumes, he fell face first onto the bed and uttered the one word that gave him hope in such an ugly world.

"Selene…"

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"Selene!"

The cry was passionate against her neck. She bit her lip from screaming. How did he do this to her? How could he show her a whole new world just from touching and tasting her body?

The birds in the lagoon stirred sleepily as they chattered annoyed, wishing the passionate couple amidst them would just rest and let them actually sleep for a night. But the two lovers took no heed of their chirps and peeps. They had waited all day for this moment to be together.

After Selene, Mina, and Iris' return back to their home, they had taken up their usual tasks again especially since Amy had recovered fully. Endymion and his cousins also returned to training physically. Just because Egypt wasn't a militarized civilization, the royal men were still expected to know their way around weapons in case they ever had to defend themselves. Each busy with their own affairs, the pair could only make time to get away from their responsibilities at night when they would meet at the lagoon after the sun set.

And they hadn't been the only ones. Each of their friends slipped out to find their other pair as well, and the silent knowledge between them only brought them closer to each other. While Selene and Endymion met in the lagoon, Mina and Kenlum would rendezvous in the royal training areas the men used during the day. Raye and Jaden met under their sycamore as usual while Lita and Natum rejoined in her private kitchen. Finally, and this caused everyone to smile, Zachariah found a secret passage that led from the kitchens to the library for Amy. Everyone knew that only those two would find being together surrounded by scrolls on every imaginable subject romantic.

But those thoughts were far from the present couple's minds as Endymion held a shuddering Selene against his broad chest, her cheek pressed against his left pectoral. The fast rhythm of his heart was slowing to a contented beat as her gasping breaths returned to normal as well. Their heart beats melted into one as they listened to the lagoon life around them.

"I've missed you," he said.

"I've missed you too," she replied.

They sank into silence again. They were too content to speak, as if afraid that they'd ruin the moment.

Selene was surprised that he had yet to find out about her father. She was guilt-ridden about her silence with Endymion. They knew almost everything about each other except for that. Endymion never asked her about her missing father, probably thinking he was saving her from painful memories. It was as if a pendulum was swinging overhead, and Selene was trapped beneath it wondering when it would finally come down… 'Maybe I should just tell him and get it over with. He would trust me, wouldn't he?'

Endymion was lost within his own thoughts too. He knew that it was highly unusual for slave women to marry past their twenties. Selene, he thought, was nearing the cusp of her impending marriage. The problem was that he didn't want to see her married to someone else. He didn't want her to ever leave his side. Yet he couldn't very well make her his. Even his father was unable to make his mother his chief wife even after Endymion's famed birth. If Selene was to be with him, she would only have a place in his harem especially since she was a slave. He knew she deserved more than that. 'But I can't offer her more. Maybe I should just ask her. She'd understand, won't she?'

"Endymion…"

"Selene…"

They began at the same time.

"You go first," she prompted at the amused yet troubled look in his eyes. Her news could wait, she thought desperately holding onto a perfect moment.

"As you know I am to become Pharaoh, and as Pharaoh, I would be expected to have wives and eventually produce an heir."

At the confused look her eyes, he blundered on.

"And you are to be married sometime soon…and I just can't allow that."

"What are you saying?" Selene asked stunned. It was awkward to see Endymion stumble through his words like this in blatant nervousness, and the direction of his message was mind-blowing. He was going to prevent her from marrying?

"I can't allow another man to hold you like this…to love you for the rest of your life when I am unable to see your face, to hear your voice, to watch your soul flashing through your eyes…"

"I can't allow that either," she replied, encouraging him with a hand caressing his cheek.

"But neither of us can stop it. Perhaps the next time you see me you'll want nothing to do with me…" she added cryptically. Her heart twisted in agony at the sound of his heart-felt words because it only added more to her guilt. 'Why would Abba give me him only to take him away? Why hasn't Abba shown me proof to give to him?'

"How can that be true? How could I ever stop loving you? We are one and the same, Selene. To deny you is to deny myself. Be with me. I cannot promise you the place of chief wife because it is a position that even I as Pharaoh cannot assign. But you will always know that you will always be the …"

He trailed off when he felt the heat of tears upon his chest. He had made her cry…

"I know you have earned more titles than anyone yet I cannot change the traditions of Egypt for my own sake. I know you deserve more, but this is all I can give you right now. Is it enough for you?"

"Please don't ask me now. Not when… just give me more time to give you proof," she whispered.

"Proof of what?" He asked confused.

"Proof that I am worthy of your love, of your trust… Proof that I was born to be yours…"

He didn't understand her. As far as he knew, she had proven all of that with each smile, each caress. Instead, he held her and gave her the time she wanted even when it was the one thing that was pulling them apart.

By dawn the pair rose from their mossy bed and returned back to their places in life wishing for night to fall again.

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"I understand, Beryl," Salik replied finally after her lengthy tale. She had proved to be his wild card, Salik thought pleased. 'Perhaps it would do good to give her what she wants. A man like Endymion needs a level-headed wife like her to keep him grounded. Pharaohs weren't meant to be dreamers.'

"So what will you have me do, your highness?" She purred satisfied. They were in the Pharaoh's study. After she confronted him outside Anack's chambers with promises of answering the questions he asked, he led her to the study with great anticipation. Now after her revelations, she was rewarded with the conspiratorial gleam in his dark eyes.

"Nothing for the moment. From what you say, my nephew is much enamored with the slave so the element of surprise will be the key to their demise. I will announce a feast two nights before Damondius is due back to begin the training, and at that feast, you shall be announced as his future chief wife. He will protest in the beginning, but we shall reply most sympathetically that at least you have not kept matters of state from him like his beloved Selene. Then we shall take her while his anger is fresh and bestow her to Damondius as a welcoming gift. By my prediction, as soon as Damondius leaves his men, he will return to Babylon eagerly with his new toy in tow."

"And when he finds out that she is no longer pure?" Beryl asked evilly.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I have no pity for the child of my beloved brother's murderer," he smirked.

The two shared a hearty laugh over the possibilities.

"Now go home and get some beauty sleep. We have a lot of planning to do," Salik commanded good-naturedly.

As Beryl bowed low before him, he caught a hearty glimpse of her bosom. When she looked up challengingly at him, he knew it had been no accident.

"Welcome to the family, Beryl," he murmured as she exited the study.

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Two weeks had past since Endymion asked her to consider becoming a part of his harem. He didn't say it outright, but what else could he have meant? They hadn't talked about it since, and frankly, Selene had more pressing matters at hand to consider. Her life was about to change more than she could've ever imagined.

Selene sat by the river bank lost in thought as the girls splashed around her giggling and laughing. It had been so long since they were able to get together and bathe in the healing estuaries surrounding the main river.

Lita and Raye were busy having a splash war as Amy was helping Mina perfect her swimming form. Only Selene sat quietly away from the rest.

Finally the other girls became impatient at her most unusual behavior and decided to ask what was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" Mina asked as she sidled up to her laconic twin.

"Nothing, I'm just not feeling very well," she mustered up the strength to smile.

"Oh you're not coming down with something, are you?" Amy began almost immediately by peering clinically into her bloodshot eyes.

"Well you look like shit," Lita supplied from Selene's right, earning her a glare from Raye.

"She means you look like you've been better," she corrected while laying a gentle hand against her forehead.

"I'm fine!" Selene insisted as she tried to wiggle away from her concerned friends.

"Liar! Tell us what's wrong!"

"I'm late okay?" Selene snapped.

"Late for what?" Mina asked puzzled.

"Yeah, we have the morning off, don't we?" Lita argued hoping she didn't miss something. She hated getting into the kitchen late.

Only Amy and Raye gaped at the downcast girl with comprehension dawning on their features.

"You can't be!" Raye gasped even as Selene's eyes teary eyes met hers.

"Couldn't I be?" She muttered bitterly.

"How long?" Amy asked shakily.

"Okay, what are you three talking about because clearly we're not all on the same page…" Lita demanded exasperatedly.

A very pregnant pause hung heavily over the five young women.

"I think I'm carrying Endymion's child…" Selene said shakily.

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**So that puts a new perspective on things… REVIEW like fiends for the next chapter!**


	15. Tomorrow

**Thanks for the awesome reviews! You guys are amazing. Since I broke the 100 reviews record, I'm going to reward you with this new chapter! Enjoy and REVIEW! **

"I've heard nothing, Endymion. Perhaps it's all rumors," Kenlum sighed exasperatedly as he sat across from his anxious cousin. Almost three weeks ago, Endymion came to him and the others asking them to help him seek out a conspiracy he was sure existed. Apparently Anack had come to her son in a frenzy babbling about Endymion and Selene's looming separation and some foreigner's plans to change Egypt.

Needless to say, Endymion had been shaken to the core.

Never in his life had Kenlum seen such turmoil in his beloved cousin's eyes. He knew the reason for it too for if he had been in the same situation with Mina at stake; he would've felt the same way. 'Ah we are but fools in love…' he thought empathetically.

However, that didn't change the situation present before them. Nothing had come up in the search for truth behind the allegations. There were no mentions of foreigners arriving at the palace except for a few hushed whispers about the fabled bringer of destruction, the pale demon god known to Egyptians as Da'Mon making an entrance at the palace. There was no imminent threat to Selene's safety, or at least none that they could find. So what were they to do? They trusted Anack and Endymion, but they found nothing to suggest that these were justifiable claims.

"I haven't told her anything yet," Endymion said moodily when Zachariah asked him who Selene handled the news that Salik planned on giving her to a mystery man.

The men stood stiffly.

"She hasn't noticed?" Natum asked incredulously. He possessed an uncanny knack for sensing emotions and always knew that state of Lita's psyche. It was hard for him to imagine that two people who loved each other as much as Endymion and Selene could not sense each other's emotions.

"I don't think so. She's been just as distant as I have, as if she had something plaguing her mind as well," Endymion replied troubled. It was true that Selene was hiding something from him. He could tell each time when she would avoid his eyes whenever he tried to look deep into hers. There were the moments when she thought he wasn't watching and finally let a sliver of pain and indecision shine through. Those moments worried him.

No one noticed the uncomfortable fidgeting in the corner. Zachariah knew Selene's secret. Both of them… He found the first from searching around the slaves who worked in the palace. It was gossip meant for trusted ears and he had felt guilty at first for intruding on someone's private conservations. However, when he heard enough to start filling in the blanks about Selene and Mina's past, he confronted Amy to verify the truth. She then shocked him again by asking for prenatal herbs and medicines for the very woman in question. Selene is pregnant… Zach still couldn't wrap him mind around the fact. He was no fool. When Endymion found out, he would do everything to change Egyptian tradition to make Selene his by right and by choice. 'Or would he? She has kept secrets from him, and when he finds out one in particular, would he be able to overcome his hatred and his pain?' Zachariah didn't know. For once, the man was stumped.

"On a side note to brighten up the atmosphere in this room, have you all heard of the impromptu feast scheduled for tomorrow night?" Jaden, forever the optimist, quipped.

The other men gave him a puzzled look as a reply.

"Yeah apparently, it's supposed to honor Endymion's impending transition from Prince to Pharaoh. The kitchens have just started making the preparations," Jaden added.

"Why haven't I heard about this?" Endymion wondered aloud.

Natum shrugged. "Perhaps it really is on a short notice. I'm sure Lita doesn't even know yet or else she would've started preparing as soon as she found out."

"I don't know. It almost sounds suspicious. Since when have we scheduled in a feast not in accordance to tradition? What makes this one so important?" Zach asked aloud from his corner.

No one knew the answer.

"Well perhaps I should be happy we haven't been able to find anything. Maybe nothing's wrong at all," Endymion declared finally.

Everyone knew he was wrong, but without proof, they remained quiet beside the brooding Prince.

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Selene sighed in exasperation. She wasn't weak for goodness sakes! Ever since she broke the news to the girls they had been treating her like a dependent child and nagging incessantly for her to rest. The moon cycle was nearly ending, and her cycle still hadn't come. It was pretty much impossible for her to be anything but pregnant by this point.

Pregnant with the heir to the Pharaohship's illegitimate child… the thought still boggled her mind. Her mother had taken it better than anyone by simply nodding sagely while enveloping her shaky daughter into her arms. Selene had felt five and hiding in her mother's safe arms again. In a few years, she would have to possess the same grace and love for her own child.

She knew Endymion deserved to know, but she couldn't bring herself to break the news. She even begged her friends to not tell their significant others. She wanted whenever she decided to tell Endymion to be the first time he'd hear the news. But by Abba, hasn't she hidden enough from him yet? The omissions seemed to mount and mount over her head until she could hardly move anymore.

'But what if he does something rash when he finds out? What if he takes my child away once he learns my other secret? What if…' She thought desperately.

"Day dreaming again?" Mina asked gently to her right.

They were under the hot sun picking wheat, again. For years this was their domain. Yet within the past few months, they had seen, had learned, had loved more than they ever imagined.

"Life is funny, isn't it, Min?"

"You're telling me… Soon you'll be more bloated than well-fed mosquito and whinier too," she replied cheekily while Selene tossed her a glare.

"Be nice, Min or Abba will decide to bestow you with your own little mosquito as well," Selene chided evilly even as she watched the blood drain from Mina's face.

"Don't joke about that! The last thing we all need is two babies!"

Selene sobered immediately.

"Do you think Endymion will recognize his child?" She asked.

"Of course he would. He loves you, and he'll love this child just as much," Mina comforted.

"But there's so much keeping us apart, Mina. You know that he doesn't know…yet. He doesn't know any of it," Selene reminded guiltily.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like we were convicted of treason along with our father, and we all know he's innocent! If anything we should defend him! He did nothing wrong, and he loved Endymion. Just like you love him…"

Selene felt a surge of relief course through her. Mina was absolutely right. What had Katim done? Nothing! Why should she be ashamed as if she believed her father to be guilty? 'No, Endymion will understand. I'll make him see,' she vowed. Placing a caressing hand on her still flat belly, she smiled and amended her thoughts.

'We'll make him see…'

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Damondius' party of 400 skilled troops and sergeants rode fast and hard, pushing their steeds to the limit. They were crossing the plains and deserts separating Babylon and Egypt with astounding speed.

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Beryl's skirted robe twirled and twist around her feet as she spun around her chambers. In one night, she will become a Princess of Egypt, betrothed to the future Pharaoh. She giggled at herself as she imagined the possibilities.

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The Amorites followed their pale leader with blind devotion. Their lord and governor promised them unseen wealth and luxury awaiting them in Egypt with willing women at every corner beckoning to them. For decades they've trained under the direction of the man. When at first their doubts of the albino's abilities gave them false pride, they were now all convinced that their ruler was wise and cunning beyond all. Who else could've persuaded the Pharaoh of Egypt to welcome death warriors into his country with open arms?

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He would love her, Beryl was sure of it. What man wouldn't? At first he will be reluctant to marry her just as he was the morning after the ritual, but he'll come around. They all do… And when he does, they'll rule the land together while the slave woman who's trapped Endymion in her claws will be with Damondius. 'It was almost a shame she wouldn't befall worse misery,' Beryl thought. 'But who knows? Perhaps Damondius would be a stickler for purity in his women…' Either way, the slave will die a lonely and miserable death away from Endymion and that's all that mattered.

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At least night had fallen by now. Sweaty, aching, and impatient, Damondius drew his mini-army to the outskirts of the city. Splitting the ranks into two, he motioned for one to set up camp and for the other to follow him. They were early but that had been planned. The Amorite warriors were dressed in peasant clothes similar to those of low-class Egyptians. Taking only weapons that could be hidden in their clothes, they got off their horses. Then nodding to the command he left at camp with the other half of his army, Damondius turned and led his now camouflaged men toward the capital of Egypt.

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They were bathed in silvery light, the color of her long hair. The contrast of the moss green beneath her body and the hue of her hair stuck fast in Endymion's mind. She might not have known it, but she really was a moon goddess. 'My moon goddess,' he amended.

Tomorrow night, his uncle was holding a feast in his honor with an unknown agenda. Endymion had his own trick up his robe. He had been worried that Selene would be taken from him…what better way to prevent that from happening by making her his in front of all the nobles and generals? Who would dare defy his wishes? She would be his in both name and honor. It will be beautiful…

She knew she had to tell him, and for some reason she knew she had to do it now. But for the life of her she didn't want to leave the warmth of his hold. She didn't want to never see his blue eyes again. 'Coward! You are such a coward! Prove that you've earned him by trusting him! Trust him to have trust in you!'

Then squeezing her eyes shut, she opened her mouth to reveal her secret.

"I have something to tell you," he said suddenly.

"What?" She asked breathlessly as the air escaped from her lungs. Damn, she had come so close to not backing out…

"There is to be a feast tomorrow night and I want you to come," he answered simply. But as she looked into those expressive eyes of his, she knew he was up to something.

"How could I? They'd never let me in," she replied puzzled.

"Who could refuse you?" He smirked at her blushing before adding "Especially when you're the guest of the Prince?"

"If you want me there, I will come, but…" She ceased her second attempt at revealing her secrets when she saw the intense joy in his face turn into concern.

She was being cruel to him! Couldn't she let him enjoy himself without ruining things? Couldn't she give him one night of satisfaction and peace?

"But what? Are you okay?" He asked.

Putting on her sweetest smile, she replied, "I've never been better, and I will come tomorrow. Just promise me that you'll spend the night with me afterwards?"

Grinning widely at her words, he laughed. She had no idea how true that was to be. "I promise to do that and more," he vowed.

"Then let's not talk anymore, End. Let's just have tonight, together."

She snuggled closer to him knowing that it will be okay, that their love will survive. But try as she might, she couldn't ignore the gentle protest of the wind in the lagoon. The word on the zephyr's lips haunted her.

"Tomorrow…"

**So the stage is set. It's going to hit the fan in the next chapter so the more REVIEWS, I the faster I will crank it out. It's going to be loaded so you gotta work hard for it! **


	16. Lies

**It's been so long since I've updated--- so sorry--- but I've been trying to plan out what will happen in the future of the story. This is Part 1 of the revelation. There will be a Part 2 coming out hopefully within a month. Please review if you guys are still interested in the story. I would like to hear what you guys think will happen…**

The day began as any other.

"Wake up!" Mina was yelling into Selene's ear. After sneaking back into her chambers a few hours ago, Selene barely got in a few hours of sleep before her ever-energetic twin started yanking on her.

"Five more minutes?" Selene pouted in her sleep as she tried rolling out of Mina's grasp.

Sighing in frustration, Mina threw her hands up in the air.

Sleepily, Selene thought she had won this round.

"Is she always like this in the morning?" Someone else asked teasingly as another person chuckled.

Selene's eyes shot open.

"What are you doing here?" Selene mumbled as she sat up on her cot and turned to the reason for her fatigue.

Endymion smiled roguishly as he studied the sight she made. Her hair was rumpled from their nighttime activities and her eyes were bleary with sleep yet she was still stunning to him, astonishing him with the ethereal glow that followed her everywhere- even in the early hours of the day.

"Why I've come to take you to the palace. I hear it takes women a long time to prepare for a feast and I don't want to cheat you out of that experience…" he teased as she threw him a dirty look.

"So get your clothes on! You're keeping the rest of us behind," Mina added from the corner. When Selene turned her gaze to her irritating sister, she noticed that Kenlum was in the room too, currently hugging the radiant Mina to his side protectively.

'By Abba, how does that girl look so good in the early morning?' She wondered as she grumbled sulkily as she threw on a light cloak over her robes. She had been too tired to undress last night, and with Kenlum's presence in the room, she was glad to have been covered.

"So I suppose she has to come too," Selene sighed teasingly at her sister.

"Well since End is bringing the love of his life, I thought I had better bring mine or else never hear the end of it," Kenlum replied quickly before Mina shot back with a scowl.

"And your other friends will as well. It appears that everyone has found a match," Endymion added although his eyes remained on her.

Quietly they filed out of the narrow hut. It had been the first slave hut the princes had ever been in, but they were too preoccupied with the pair of women than to pay much notice to their surroundings.

Heralded into a lavish ox-pulled carriage taken after the style of the Babylonians, they started for the palace.

'At least this time I know what I'm doing and who I'll be doing it with,' Selene thought wistfully as she remembered her last experience on a cart headed for the palace.

Her thoughts came to an end with a contented sigh as Endymion pulled her closer to his side and tucked her into the warm embrace of his arms.

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Damondius entered the palace alone. His garbs were intricate and kingly. It would've been of no use to him to have disguised himself like his men as a commoner. His looks alone would've set him apart from the earthy skin tones of the Egyptians.

He noticed the curious glances of the servants as he stalked by purposefully but he paid them no heed. Taking a sudden turn at one of the many passageways of the palace, he crouched down suddenly, kneeling at the base of the stone wall. His pale hand reached out to trace along the fine crack that rose from the floor. It stopped about a foot up from the ground. Using his fingers, he brushed away some of the dirt and grime that had built up during the past twenty years until finally a small hole became visible.

Reaching into his garments, he retrieved a long rod with etched teeth on one end. Slowly and carefully, he inserted the key into the hole and twisted. A barely audible click sounded. Pulling out the key and putting it back into his garment; he stood to his full height and pressed the torch on the wall. Slowly, the sound of grinding stone stopped as a new room opened to him. He was within the royal study.

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Beryl saw red as she watched her nemesis step into the scented waters of the royal bathing house. Nearby her friends were splashing and relaxing as well. Beryl wanted to puke.

'Such disrespect for the traditions of Egypt… allowing common slaves to use the royal bathing chambers… after I become queen, putting these slaves back in their places will be one of my first campaigns,' she thought angrily as she scrubbed her naked body even more vigorously.

Salik had granted her access and privileges to a private bathing alcove as well as given her personal attendants. Beryl wasn't stupid. She knew that Salik just wanted to stay on her good side since once she married Endymion, she would wield immense power.

"Bring more almond spices for my hair," Beryl snapped impatiently to one of the nearby maids. One quickly scurried off.

Beryl's lips twisted into a slow smile. 'Yes, a girl can get used to this treatment…' She got even more pleased when she remembered how the slaves assigned to serve her had at first wanted to protest their sudden reassignment. And then how they quickly submitted to her whims when she ordered a guard to backhand the most vocal one across the face.

The slave was back but the look on her face was fearful. Beryl threw her an annoyed look before noticing the fact her hands were empty.

"Well? Where are my almond spice oils?" She demanded.

"The other ladies across the alcove are using what's remaining, and the superintendent says that she will have no other bottles until the next caravan arrives," the slave girl explained helplessly.

Beryl bit back her curses. 'As if that bitch isn't enough of a pebble in my sandal already,' she thought.

Waving the slave away impatiently so that she could be alone with her dark thoughts, Beryl turned back to watch the five women converse lightly as they bathed. She almost turned away in pure rage and disgust when something caught her eye.

Selene was standing with her hands pressed against her bare stomach, a serene smile upon her glowing face. Each of her friends was speaking to her just as intimately as they smiled and laughed together. An icy drip of doubt and uncertainty crept down the back of Beryl's spine. From this angle, it almost looked like she was caressing her flat belly…but why would she do that? Why would any woman rub her stomach for no reason?

'Unless she was pregnant,' Beryl thought fearfully.

She climbed out the fragrant pool. She couldn't take any chances now, not today of all days.

'If she is pregnant, does Endymion know? Is she here today to announce it to the court by Endymion's side at the feast tonight? He wouldn't dare it! Would he? Did Salik know this but chose to keep me from it? What will Da'Mon do when he discovers it?' Beryl's thoughts ran a mile a minute, but one thing was sure.

She could not wait for tonight. She had to make her move now, or risk losing Endymion forever.

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"I have often wondered how you did it," Salik said from his chaise.

Damondius grunted as he replaced the key into the inner pocket of his robes.

"Have you delivered your end of the bargain?" He demanded quietly.

"To think… my very brother dying under your hands in the very spot I am sitting on…it's almost unfathomable," Salik continued, his voice almost wistful.

"Not so unfathomable. I am perfectly capable of giving you a repeat performance," Damondius replied dryly.

"You are a day early."

"You don't have her yet…"

"She will be delivered to you before midnight. There will be a feast held in your and your men's honor tonight, and you shall meet my nephew and his future queen. Then you may take what is yours after," Salik replied wearily.

"Do not disappoint me, Salik."

"No, I will not…my lord."

Damondius heard the man's defeat in the shaky cadence of his speech. 'Egypt and the goddess will be mine,' he thought pleased before turning to exit through the study's front entrance, startling the guards stationed outside with his sudden appearance.

Before they could move to strike the intruder, the Pharaoh's call of restraint came from within the chamber.

As the stranger moved down the corridor, the two guards could only gape at each other with fear and awe.

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"Do you think it'll be a boy?" Raye asked the blushing Selene.

"It's way too early to tell," Amy replied matter-of-factly.

"Aw, don't ruin her fun, Ames," Lita chimed.

"Hey! The baby's not even out yet, and all of you guys are focused on it already!" Mina added from the corner.

Selene blushed even more as her hands rubbed soothingly over where her child will soon rest. She almost couldn't wait to become a mother, and she knew that Endymion would be a wonderful father to his children.

When he had left her at the carriage this morning, there had been something in his eyes. It had been there since the night they met, but she had never been able to see it so clearly before. It was one of the few times they had been together during the daytime. If she thought the moon's glow brought out his beauty, she had obviously not seen the man enough under the sun.

She had a feeling that he had a surprise for her at the feast this evening or he wouldn't have insisted on all the fuss. Before he left her with her friends, he seemed hesitant and nervous causing her almost to laugh at his discomfort. He seemed to have wanted to say something yet the words never came out and he satisfied her with a quick kiss before stalking off.

But she had a surprise for him too. She vowed that by the end of the night, he would know of their future together as a family with their child. And at this point, Selene truly believed that there was indeed a future for them.

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"What are you doing here?"

Endymion regarded her curiously. It had been a while since he's seen her around the palace, but then again, he had been a walking ghost himself during the days. Whenever he was out of meetings and training sessions, he would spend his time thinking about how Selene had felt in the warm circle of his arms and how much he was looking forward to seeing her in the coming night. He had been shocked to hear of the loves his cousins found as well, but he was content in knowing that his beloved cousins had found their own loves. He remembered thinking how different he used to be and how they used to scorn those weak men who fell in love foolishly. Now they all had realized that it took strength and maturity to nurture love.

"My lord Prince," Beryl bowed low before him with her eyes downcast.

"Rise, and state your business," Endymion sighed impatiently. He had been antsy since Selene disappeared with her friends. While his cousins went off on their own, Endymion remained in the gardens as he contemplated how he was going to break the news to his uncle. Now his concentration and thoughts were scattered by this unwelcome visitor.

"I have waited for weeks to catch your highness at a time of your leisure. It is my wish to get to know my betrothed before…"

"Your betrothed?" Endymion interrupted. Endymion's pupils dilated in shock and disbelief. His head spinning he could not look away from the woman before him even though he had a sudden inclination to hurl.

Beryl's head snapped up as her eyes widened in shock.

"Do not say that his highness, the Pharaoh, has not spoken to you!" She exclaimed in mock surprise.

"He has said nothing of the sort," Endymion nearly roared as the blood rushed to his ears. His words came out harsher than he intended, thereby giving away the distress she had caused him. Surely the Pharaoh would not make such a promise on his behalf without even consulting him! Surely his uncle would've spoken to him about it. And his mother would've known if a betrothal had been announced!

"But we are to be announced tonight! At the feast! That was when we are to be formally announced as the future…"

Endymion spun around to face her and Beryl could see anger and denial radiate through his shining eyes in rolling waves.

"Mark your next words carefully, Beryl as should they prove false, I shall have you held responsible for them," Endymion warned.

"I would never deceive you! Ask the Pharaoh and he shall tell you that…"

But Endymion was no longer listening to her. He was headed toward the royal study in long determined strides as if trying to leave her and her impossible assertions behind. In his haste, he did not see her smug smile of satisfaction.

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When Endymion reached the royal study, he didn't bother to motion to the guards of his entrance and simply stormed in. During the few minutes it took for him to arrive at the ornate door where his father once laid dying, he felt more desperation than he ever had in his life. He never truly detested Beryl until a few moments before when she spoke convincingly of their secret betrothal. He could not entirely believe it yet he could also not entirely disbelieve it. She was taking a great chance in claiming such things and surely she wouldn't have dared to unless it was really true.

What had seemed the best plan to announce Serenity as his had suddenly seemed as impossible as the depth of his love for her. He couldn't believe Beryl, he told himself. Yet even as he intruded on his uncle, who was wearily staring out the window, he knew he could not afford to not believe her. He was still the Prince of Egypt, and his word was second to the shadow of a man before him.

"Endymion," Salik greeted apathetically, "What brings to here with such haste?"

"Is it true that you had me betrothed to that wretched… worm of a woman, Beryl?" Endymion demanded sharply.

Salik looked at him surprised with a hint of anger at his eyes. Somehow Endymion knew the anger was not directed at him but at her. Perhaps she was to keep it secret until the last possible moment, Endymion thought.

His patience running out as Salik simply stared silently at him, Endymion commanded his uncle with a tone he had never heard himself use before.

"Answer me."

It was a chilling sound that felt alien to his usually genial self. Even he shivered slightly at the silent promise of untold misery awaiting any man who dared refuse him.

"She should not have told you this early, Endymion. However you're taking this a little bit harder than expected. She is a fine woman, Endymion… the gods made her for men like you."

"You know nothing!" Endymion roared suddenly as his anger peaked. With his fears confirmed, he could no longer hold back the tides of rage threatening to overcome anyone who got in his way.

Salik's eyes hardened as a single eye-brow rose. The smirk of his lip disgusted Endymion to no end and the sound of his uncle's voice hurt his ears.

"I know more than you think, dear nephew. And more than _she_ thinks, for that matter."

"You mean Beryl?" Endymion replied bitterly. He fought hard to push back the bile that came with saying her name.

Chuckling humorlessly, Salik shook his head.

"You can't really think that I would let you marry her, did you Endymion? Not when there are other more… invaluable uses for her," Salik answered cryptically.

Now it was Endymion's turn to shake his head in confusion. "I don't understand.. I thought you wanted me to take Beryl as my queen."

"Not Beryl, Endymion. I speak of the slave you tried so hard to hide from me when you had no idea of the things she was hiding from you! You silly child… you thought you were in love? Well let me tell you something, love is for fools. I loved from the beginning of time yet I was never rewarded for my devotion. Time after time I faced rejection from the one I was destined to adore yet I cannot let her go even when I know I will never receive her acceptance. And you, you were born into the greatest splendor the world has ever seen. All the women in the kingdom would kill to become your queen and one of the most beautiful and clever women will be. Yet you choose a filthy slave! Your father is rolling in his tomb!"

"Don't you dare speak of my father! You lost all right to mention his name years ago, uncle," Endymion sneered derisively as he turned to storm out the room. "And you know nothing of love or you would be able to understand what I feel for her."

Laughing maniacally, Salik stood from behind the alabaster table and spoke deliberating at Endymion's back.

"I know exactly what you feel for her, Endymion, but it is you who have no knowledge of the lowly witch you've allowed into your bed and heart."

Endymion whirled around in a rage, ready to attack. "How dare you…"

"No, how dare she not tell you of her lineage? That her father was the very slave who murdered your beloved father and my beloved brother in cold, calculating blood?" Salik interrupted.

Endymion's anger was momentarily deterred as confusion and disbelief set in.

"You lie! Why would I believe anything that comes out of your mouth about her?"

"I did not lie about your betrothal to Beryl, and contrary to your belief, I have always held what is best for Egypt at the forefront of my mind. If I allowed you to wed this deceitful bitch, I would be throwing the state to the wolves!"

"It's not true… she wouldn't… it can't be true!" Endymion yelled as if he could erase all doubts from his mind with the loudness of his voice.

"If you do not wish to believe me, then I suggest you go and ask her yourself. I think once you learn the truth from your precious strumpet, marriage to Beryl will seem a welcome alternative. At least she's open about her sordid dealings."

Ignoring Salik's last comments and determined to give his love the benefit of a doubt, he tried to calm himself before replying to his smirking uncle.

"You will see that you're wrong about her. The truth will be revealed tonight at the feast!" Endymion insisted before he strode out the study.

"Indeed it shall, my dear nephew. Indeed it shall."

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Damondius looked over his now disguised troops as he took a long swig from a wooden goblet. Everything was going according to plan as one regiment was posted to the East and the other with him facing the West. It wasn't long until sundown and he silently anticipated seeing her again.

He didn't understand why he was so attracted to the woman. He had seen many beauties during his time, and while many had also given him unparalleled pleasure, none had looked at him with the same kindness she had. 'It must be the loneliness that attacks every seasoned soldier that is ailing me. Or I am simply unable to forget her unusual beauty…'

"My lord, the sun is about to set, and your carriage awaits you on the main path," one of his men said from outside Damondius' make-shift tent.

"Very good, Enu… Gather our company and we will depart within the minute."

He would ride into the palace through the special entrance designated to him by Salik. He knew his presence was still a secret in the kingdom and knew that it would come to his advantage as his men will slowly creep into all the corners of Egypt. The conquering of Egypt would be the campaign that will seal his permanent seat of power in the Ancient Near East, and the silvery woman who had such kind eyes for a freak like him will rule until their deaths at his side.

Smiling, he stepped out into the cool night air and strode toward his destiny.

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The sun set was glorious as Selene stood at the marble balustrade looking out into the horizon. Her heart beat furiously even at the thought of confronting Endymion with the truth about her past and their future, but she knew it had to be done. She had waited too long already, and now she could only pray that their love would overcome his anger and pain at her confessions. And she prayed that he would love the child that was growing inside her even now as much as she would always love him. It had seemed so long ago when she had first met him in the darkness of his chamber. She had wanted nothing but his death at that moment… until she felt the heat of his caresses and the touch of his kiss against her brow. She was lost from day one and suddenly realized with the greatest of clarity that she had known it all along even as she desperately tried to prevent the rising hope within her bosom that he could return her love.

She felt warmth envelope her as two strong arms surrounded her and warm lips laid a gentle kiss at the base of her neck. She was about to melt into the soft embrace until she noticed the tightness of his corded muscles.

"What's wrong?" She asked frowning a bit as she tried to massage the tension out of his forearms with her small hands.

"It's been a trying day, my love…"

Turning her head slightly to lay a kiss on him, she was surprised to find that his eyes were focused sharply on her. His gaze was penetrating and she could not help but to blush and to turn away as if he could see straight into her loving but deceiving heart.

She felt the tension increase in him and was about to say something before he spoke for her.

"We haven't been completely honest with each other, have we?" He asked rhetorically as he looked down at her with an unreadable expression.

Suppressing her gasp, she could only mumble a weak "What do you mean?"

"The look in your eyes… I used to never be able to decipher it, but now I see it as guilt. What aren't you telling me?" He asked softly as he continued to study her.

Selene could not stand the scrutiny as she shuffled slightly to the left and away from him. This wasn't how she had pictured telling him…not when there was so much distrust in his eyes for her. Yet, she had to, didn't she?

"Why the sudden curiousity, Endymion?" She retorted instead as some of her old sarcastic ways returned to her.

She knew he was stiffening at her dismissive tone and that she was treading on thin ice. The truth had to come out somehow, and if this would be the place for it to happen, then so be it, she thought.

"Because I'm about to make you my queen, and I realized that I knew nothing about you."

She whirled around at this. It was impossible yet there he was looking as dashing and strong as ever. Yet she knew he had never been this vulnerable in his life since his youth, and it was all because of her.

"It's not possible, Endy. You know why it would never be possible," she whispered.

His eyes narrowed in rejection and something else that Selene mistook for determination.

"Why not? Is there something that would prevent you from being the queen of Egypt?"

She did not like the thinly veiled sarcasm of his voice. She had not hear such cold disdain toward her since their first meeting so many nights ago.

"How about the fact that I'm a slave? You despise slaves as does your kingdom…to w-wed me would be to commit political suicide!" She stammered as she just rejected them both out of the one thing she had secretly yearned for: the ability for their love to become legitimate.

The two had been bickering so wantonly that neither of them noticed the lone figure standing by the entrance way to the balcony. The figure had been waiting for her opportune moment to intervene, and Selene was about to give her the chance.

"Is that all, my sweet?" Endymion was already moving toward her as he could see her pain bubbling beneath the surface. He had wanted her to tell him the truth, and it seemed that the only thing she was hiding from him was her still-lingering self-consciousness for being a slave. He had come to look through that and knew that with the right persuasion, the court and kingdom will too.

'Tell him now! This is the moment!' Selene thought wildly as she saw his love for her radiate from his eyes.

"I…"

"…Have not been completely forthcoming with you, my Prince," Beryl announced as she approached the couple.

Endymion's smile turned into an instant frown as he threw Beryl a dirty look for interrupting whatever it was that Selene was going to tell him. He was about to physically remove the tramp himself when her next shrilly proclaimed words evoked a loud gasp from his lover.

"I was hiding the fact that the slave woman before you is indeed a traitor!"

"That's enough!" Endymion roared as he almost charged at the enchantress.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't believe me! I waited for her to tell you, but now I know that she never would until the next she laid her dark hand over your life!" Beryl continued murderously as she glared at the shell-shocked Selene.

"I will not tolerate another…"

"Ask her who her father is Endymion… I thought you could see for yourself, but she has you tangled around her little finger! Ask her who her father is, and if I'm wrong then you can have my life!"

Ready to settle this for once and for all, Endymion turned to the shaking beauty who was wilting like a flower caught in the flood before his eyes. Her reaction surprised and confused him. She did not seem merely distressed by Beryl's outbursts, she seemed physically pained as she stared hard at the ground. A nerve jumped in Endymion as he addressed her.

"Tell her that it's not the truth. Tell her your father was not Katim, my father's murderer…" His voice was hoarse from the amount of effort it took to speak those words. It has been the first time he had uttered Katim's name in over two decades.

But the woman who possessed his heart said nothing except to look at him with her large watery eyes.

"You don't understand, Endymion!" She gasped desperately when he turned away from her, his grip on Beryl loosening as all strength left his body.

"Please tell me, what don't I understand, Selene?" He spat harshly making her flinch at his tone.

"My father is innocent! He…"

"Innocent? You know nothing of the meaning of the word! You came to be and bewitched me with your beauty, blinding me to your kind's treachery. When were you going to tell me, Selene? After I had made a fool of throne and of my empire? After you became queen? After…"

"I was going to tell you right now but that…that… dreadful woman interrupted us! I wanted you to know the truth!" Selene pleaded as she tried to pull on Endymion's arm.

With no effort or regret, he brushed her off. He refused to look at her.

Meanwhile, Beryl was enjoying the spectacle before her as she reveled in the discord she had sown. She was momentarily forgotten by the lovers during the fiery dispute until Selene mentioned her again.

"If your truth was so just and honorable, you would not have waited so long to tell me," Endymion retorted coldly.

Suddenly anger and frustration swelled within the petite woman as the situation she had so wished to avoid was unfolding before her eyes.

"If you truly loved me, you would listen to what I have to say!"

The ultimatum was out there. She had thrown down the gauntlet, and all she could do was hope that it would not blow up in her face.

Endymion finally turned to face her even as one hand reached out and jerked Beryl to his right side.

When his eyes turned to meet hers, she knew she had already lost him even before the cold, spiteful words left his beautiful mouth.

"If I truly loved you, why would I be betrothed to marry lady Beryl?"

Selene could not stand the look of triumph in Beryl's eyes nor could she stand the look of cruel indifference in Endymion's. So she turned from what she thought could be her future, and ran for her life.

She ran until her sides hurt, oblivious to the fact she was racing through the elaborate halls and to the fact that she was still a slave despite her heavy accoutrements and dress. She ran and ran and ran…until she ran into someone nearly knocking them both over.

With a surprised sob still stuck in her throat, she looked up anxiously at the person suddenly aware of her status as a slave who was no longer welcomed in the palace.

Salik looked down at the fallen angel who would answer all his problems and simple smiled.

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End file.
